Treasure:  Seeds of Doubt
by Stevie Masen
Summary: The second installment of the "Treasure" series. As Darla settles into Hazzard, Bo worries about how close she's getting to other people.  Including Luke.  ESPECIALLY Luke.  Will he say things he can't take back?
1. Busted

_**Bo and Darla are back! I originally intended this to be a one-shot, but I decided to make it the first chapter of this story instead. It has been re-worked since I originally posted it; I guess I got a little too OOC for some. That's what happens when this writer gets too attached to a story!**_

_**As always, I lay no claim to DOH. Only Darla and whatever other characters I create.  
><strong>_

_You were licking your lips and your lipstick shining  
>I was dying just to ask for a taste<br>We were lying together in a silver lining  
>By the light of the moon<br>You know there's not another moment to waste_

_And then you took the words right out of my mouth_  
><em>Oh - it must have been while you were kissing me<em>  
><em>You took the words right out of my mouth<em>  
><em>And I swear it's true<em>  
><em>I was just about to say I love you<em>

_-Meatloaf, "You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth"_

Darla was in the passenger seat of Jesse's pickup, singing to the album she'd just picked up at the Meatloaf concert in Capitol City. Bo, in the driver's seat, was laughing and singing along as best he could. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to everything Darla listened to-and she did listen to everything-but there was no questioning her love of music. In the month since Darla had come back to Hazzard, when she and Daisy weren't knee-deep in wedding plans with the Hazzard ladies, she wasn't far from a music source, whether it was a radio, a record player, or a concert. When she'd heard Meatloaf was coming to Georgia, she'd begged Bo to take her. He didn't know why Darla wanted to go to a concert by a guy who named himself after a dinner staple, but he had to admit, he'd had a good time. The music wasn't Waylon, but it was a fun sound. And seeing her get up and sing and dance with a bunch of other guys and girls, who apparently knew all the words and choreography to a song called "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," had made him laugh out loud.

"Oh, Bo, thank you! I've wanted to see Meatloaf for ages!" said Darla. "It seemed like the farm crew would play _Bat Outta Hell_ on a continuous loop sometimes! I've always wanted to see him live! I know it's not your kind of music, but thank you!"

"Well, I'll tell ya what, Darla darlin', you can take the words right out of my mouth any time," said Bo, reaching for her hand.

"Gladly," said Darla, reaching across to kiss him. She'd been aiming for his cheek, but Bo turned his head and kissed her lips instead. "Bo, watch the road," she giggled.

"Shoot, I been driving these roads half my life, you think I can't drive 'em and kiss the prettiest girl in the world too?" Bo smiled as he tried to kiss her again.

"From the stories you told me about your 'shine running days, I'm sure you can," she said, smiling, "but it still makes me nervous."

"Aw, heck, in our 'shine runnin' days, we drove at night with the headlights OFF! This is easy!" said Bo.

Darla laughed and leaned back toward the window. "Hooh! That's a perfect song for a hot summer night like this!" said Darla, hanging her arm out the window. "Is it always this hot and still?"

"This time of year? You bet," said Bo, wiping his own forehead. Then a smile slowly spread across his face. "But you know, uh…there's all kinds of ways to get some relief from it."

"Really?" Darla couldn't quite see Bo's face in the reflection of the headlights, but she'd bet her new album and a whole lot more that he was wearing a very mischievous grin. "Did you somehow put air conditioning in the barn? Because that's where I'd be."

"Well, I can't get ya no air conditionin', but I can get ya a great swimmin' hole," he said slyly. "The others ain't expectin' us back for a while, it'd be a good chance to cool off."

"Hmmm, and here I thought you liked it hot with me," said Darla with a grin.

Bo gave her a shocked look and laughed out loud. "Oh honey, you know I do," he said, "but ya know, a late night swim could still be fun." _And so could other things,_ he thought. With the exception of the first night Darla came back to Hazzard, they'd hardly been able to get any time alone. Bo knew Uncle Jesse was trying to keep them apart at night as much as possible, to get them to the wedding date with a minimum of gossip. There were a lot of folks who already assumed there was another Duke on the way; that was one reason Darla wanted to wait until after the late harvest to have the wedding. But Bo didn't know how he could possibly wait that long to spend a night with her again.

"_Esta mal_, Bo Duke," Darla laughed. She knew what wavelength Bo was on. "You are bad. Okay, a swim would feel really good right now. Where are we headed?"

Bo laughed again. "You'll see," he said, and turned Uncle Jesse's pickup off the road. If he hadn't been so intent on the evening ahead, he might have caught a glimpse of the squad car sitting back in the shrubs on the side of the road.

Rosco didn't see Bo and Darla; he just saw the pickup turn off the road and head up a deserted trail. "Ooh. Ooh! Flash, you see that? That there's Jesse; I'll bet he's headin' for a still site. He's off to check his brew! Ooh, it's good news, khew-khew!" He couldn't believe he was going to be lucky enough to bust Jesse Duke on his overnight shift. He reached for his CB. "Enos, this is your superior officer Ros-COE P. Col-trane! Ya got yer ears on, come back?"

"Yessir, Sheriff!" Enos answered.

"Listen, you git up here to Route 36 and assist me with arrestin' Jesse Duke! He's headed for his still site by Miller's Pond. He's brewin' up shine and we gonna git 'im!"

"Gee Sheriff, I don't really think Uncle Jesse'd do a thing like that; it'd get all the Dukes in trouble again," said Enos.

"Enos! Now you just hush, ya hear? Hush! And git up here and assist me! Over an' out!" Rosco threw down his CB mic and waited eagerly.

* * *

><p>"Where are we?" asked Darla.<p>

"Well this here, Darla, is still site number five," said Bo. He grabbed the blankets they'd sat on at the concert from the bed of the pickup, took her hand and started to lead her through the trees. "This was one of Uncle Jesse's favorite sites to brew, 'cause of Miller's Pond."

"Clean water source, huh? No mineral deposits?"

Bo was surprised. "Now, I thought you didn't know anything about moonshine!"

"Doesn't mean I don't know anything about brewin'," she said, smiling. "I'm 'alf Irish, remember?" she finished, letting her mother's Irish brogue run thick in her speech. Darla's accent tended to vary by the day. She was gradually losing her Spanish accent, although she still tended to mutter in Spanish when she was mad. And after a few months in Hazzard, she was picking up on the Dukes' speech mannerisms as well. But she could still pull off the accents of both sides of her family when she chose to.

"Many was the McCarthy wider-woman, what spent her time running from the _Cardai, _while makin' their rare ol' Mountain Dew, as the song goes. An' we don't just know about brewin' the Irish whiskey; we know mead too," she went on.

Bo had to replay about half of what she said in his head before he got it all. Darla chuckled a bit before she went on in her usual voice. "I used to help Mama's family brew mead. My brews were pretty good."

"Mead?" Bo could see the ledge overlooking the pond ahead.

"Honey liquor; you might know it as honeywine. It's a traditional drink at Irish celebrations. Mama's family will be bringing a bunch for the wedding, but I can probably make some if someone around here has a bee hive. And the best part is, Boss and the ATF can't do a thing to you for brewing it, because it's not considered hard liquor by the revenuers."

"Now, Uncle Jesse'd love that part!" said Bo. The moon suddenly went behind a cloud, plunging them into darkness. Bo felt his way through the last few trees carefully. "Here, c'mere," he said, and pulled Darla in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

Bo wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I want you to see somethin'," he said, watching the sky. "Right about—now."

"But—oh!" Darla exclaimed. The moon had come back out, bathing everything in pale light. Miller's Pond was an almost perfect circle of molten, sparkling silver in the middle of the trees. It took her a second to realize that the pond was literally glittering.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. "What makes it sparkle like that?"

"Quartz," said Bo. "There's a lot of it up here in these parts, and when the moonlight's right, it lights everything up, like this."

Darla continued to gaze at the sparkling lights dancing on the rocks and under the water's surface. "It's beautiful," she murmured again.

"Mmmmm, not nearly as beautiful as what I'm holdin' on to," said Bo, and bent to kiss her cheek. He let his lips move down her neck, and his arms tightened around her waist. Darla twisted in his arms to face him. "I thought you wanted to swim," she teased, "or did you just bring me up here to take advantage of me?"

"Me? Shoot, would I do that?" said Bo, faking total innocence.

"Hmph," said Darla, but she smiled as she kissed him. "Guess you can't take advantage of a girl who's willin'. Now c'mon, it's hot."

"I'll say…" Bo pulled her closer.

"Quit it!" Darla laughed and started picking her way down the steep slope toward the water. Bo dropped the blankets at the top of the hill and started to follow, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.

The slope evened out a little as it met the water. They could hear the sound of the water falling over the rocks as the pond trickled over into Miller's Creek. Bo tossed his shirt onto the branches of a nearby shrub and started to kick his boots off. He couldn't help stealing glances in Darla's direction. She'd already tossed her shirt and was bent over working on the high-heeled sandals she'd borrowed from Daisy. She didn't have the long legs Daisy did—Darla was by far the shortest one in the family—but her legs were rounded with muscle borne of being a jockey, and when she paired that with the super-short shorts that Daisy favored…_well, what man in his right mind wouldn't stare?_ Bo thought. He'd seen more than one boy at the concert staring at her instead of the stage. Suddenly, he realized _he_ was staring, and Darla had caught him; she was staring back at him over her shoulder with a thoroughly amused look. "You gonna swim in those jeans? 'Cause I'm not waitin' on ya," she said, as her shorts dropped to the ground and she kicked them away.

Bo's breath caught, and he gulped as the moonlight glowed on her pale skin. _It's a good thing that water's so cold,_ he thought, _or I'd be overheating pretty quick._ He turned to undo his belt, when he heard a splash and a shriek. He looked and saw Darla standing waist-deep in the pond with soaking-wet hair, her arms wrapped tightly around her.

"This water's _freezing!_" she squealed.

"Oh, didn't I tell ya why Uncle Jesse loved this site? It's a spring-fed pond," Bo replied lightly.

"Ooooooohhh!" yelled Darla through clenched teeth; she knew Bo had left that part out on purpose. She smacked her hand hard on the surface and sent a spray of water at him.

"Hey!" he yelled as the water hit; it felt like snowflakes on his skin. Darla kicked another spray of water at him. "Oh, you wanna fight now, huh?" Bo heard Darla laugh in response as she sent another spray at him. "Okay, two can play at that!" Bo yelled, running in after her. He gasped as the cold water hit him, then jumped and tried to grab Darla. She jumped back and twisted away from him, and Bo felt the water close over his head. He jumped back up and threw his hair back. "Whoah!" he yelled, in a much higher-pitched voice than usual. "Dang, I'd forgotten just how cold this is!"

"Yeah, sure ya did!" Darla fired back, swimming back up to him. Her eyes were wide with the cold, but she was smiling, despite her teeth chattering a little. "I won't need to stay in here very long," she said. "I'm already thoroughly cooled off."

"Mmmmm…" Bo pulled Darla closer; despite the cold water, he could still feel the heat of her skin as his arms slid around her. He lowered himself so he was level with her. "I could help with that," he murmured.

* * *

><p>Rosco and Enos parked their cars at the bottom of the road that led up to the still site. "Now, Enos," Rosco whispered loudly, "you just follow my lead as your superior officer. Jesse's still should be at the top o' the hill right there. Now we're gonna approach 'im by stealth! We gonna sneak up on 'im, and we're gonna yell 'freeze!' and we gonna cuff 'im and stuff 'im! Oooh, it's gonna be a good night tonight, khew, khew!" Rosco was practically giggling.<p>

"Alrighty, sheriff, but I still don't believe Uncle Jesse'd be brewin' no shine up here," said Enos. That was technically true—he knew exactly where the Dukes were brewing shine, and it wasn't here—but he wasn't about to say that to Rosco.

"Oh Enos, hush! I know Jesse's brewin' shine, what with Bo fixin' ta marry that Darla gal. It wouldn't be a proper Hazzard weddin' if there weren't no shine ta bless the union! Now come on!" said Rosco.

Enos shook his head; apparently, a wedding was even more of a reason to try and bust the Dukes. He had no idea why Jesse would come up here, but he knew it wasn't for shine.

* * *

><p>At the top of the hill, Darla wrapped one of the blankets from the concert around her like a towel and started to wring the water out of her hair. Bo dumped their clothes in a pile, grabbed the other blanket and started to rub his own hair dry. Darla loved the way it curled when it was damp, whether it was from swimming or from sweating through chores on the farm.<p>

"Now I've caught _you_ staring," Bo said with a smile at her.

Darla looked a little sheepish, but smiled back. "I've always loved your hair," she said. "Have I ever told you that?"

"Um, no," said Bo, laughing a little. "In fact, I don't think I've ever had a girl tell me that before."

"I wanted to be a blond growing up; I hated having red hair."

"Really?" said Bo, running his hand through a section of her damp auburn hair. "I've always thought your hair was beautiful; it was one of the very first things I noticed about you."

"Well, not so much the red hair; more the pale skin that comes with it," said Darla. "I get sunburned walking from the house to the barn; that still drives me nuts. Jonas got the _gitanos_ dark skin; I got the snow-white Irish skin. I always wondered what I'd look like with a tan, but it's just not in my genes to find out."

Bo spread his blanket out and motioned for her to sit down with him. "I like your skin," he said softly, and kissed her shoulder. "Uncle Jesse once said you had milkmaid skin."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmm," he murmured, letting his lips trail lightly up her neck. "Pale, creamy skin like that, he said it reminded him of the farmer girls who used to milk the cows every morning."

Darla couldn't help but laugh. "That hardly sounds romantic."

"Well, it made me think more about you," said Bo, "not that I need much encouragement to do that." His lips started working across her throat; Darla sighed and tilted her head back. She caught the look in his eyes, and she had no doubt about how Bo wanted this evening to end. Suddenly, Bo leaned back; Darla let out a little squeak as Bo pulled her down on top of him.

Bo spent a moment looking up at her. Her damp hair, which had a reddish cast even in the silver light, fell in ribbons around him. Her shoulders and back had come free of the blanket, and her skin glowed milky-pale in the moonlight. He let his fingertips trail down her sides; she bit her lip, and he felt her start to move under his touch.

Bo reached up and cupped her cheek with one hand. "Will you marry me?" he whispered.

Darla laughed softly. "I'm pretty sure you already asked me that, seeing as how I have a ring from you." She glanced at Livinia Duke's ring glittering on her left hand. "Or were you dreaming when you asked me the first time?"

"Sometimes I think I am in a dream with you," he said, "and I'm so afraid I'm gonna wake up and find you're still gone. That time without you was the darkest of my life, Darla; I don't ever wanna go back there." His thumb traced across her lips. "Sometimes I still can't believe you came back; that you're here with me."

Darla smiled a little. Sometimes, she couldn't believe she'd taken this leap, either. She knew she was talk of the town in Lexington; the wealthy heiress running off to marry a country boy, there was no way the gossips could resist that. That thought pricked at her conscious sometimes. Not so much the gossips; she could live with that. But she still wondered if not returning to run her family's farm was the right decision. She was still a Verdes, even if the name died with her.

Then she looked at Bo; his eyes, almost black in the moonlight, were full of love as he looked up at her. She'd lived without that love too, and thought she'd lost it forever. The pain in her heart had been nearly unbearable. She knew she couldn't live without that love, or without him.

"This is where I'm supposed to be. And I'll never leave you, Bo," Darla whispered, and kissed him.

Bo felt that spark ignite between them again; an overwheming desire that was almost beyond his control. He reached down and pulled the blanket out from between them, and groaned as he felt her skin press against his. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeper. He felt heat course through him; the feeling was familiar now, but still intoxicating. His hands moved up her back and tangled in her hair, the scent of her skin filled his nose—

—And suddenly, everything went south.

* * *

><p><em>"FREEZE!"<em>

Rosco and Enos jumped out from the trees, guns drawn. Darla and Bo both jumped; their heads snapped around toward the sound. When they saw Rosco and Enos, Darla let out a shriek and tried to push herself off Bo, but in doing so she drove her knee squarely into Bo's stomach. Bo let out a loud groan and rolled over.

Meanwhile, Rosco and Enos suddenly realized exactly _who_ and _what_ they were looking at. Both of them screamed and backpedaled. Rosco plowed backfirst into a tree, but Enos wasn't so lucky; he launched himself right off the edge of the slope; they heard his high-pitched yell as he rolled end-over-end and splashed into the water.

Darla yanked the blanket around herself again; Bo sat up, gasping for breath, and tried to wrap the other blanket around him. "Dang it— Rosco—what the hell—were you thinkin'?" he grunted. "Are ya outta yer _mind_?"

Darla ran over to the ledge and saw Enos desperately trying to right himself, wiping the water out of his eyes. She could hear Bo still trying to catch his wind from when she'd kneed him. She looked over at Rosco; he was still frozen against the tree. His eyes were round as saucers. He was casting about for something to say, but was clearly at a loss for words.

"Well Bo," she said frankly, "if you were living in a dream with me before, I'd say we're both wide awake now." She looked back at Bo. Suddenly, she started laughing. Bo stared at her for a second, then he started laughing too. Darla walked back to him and sat down hard, still laughing; Bo put his arms around her. Enos suddenly reappeared on the ledge, sopping wet with water pouring off him, breathing hard from his walk up the hill. Bo and Darla took one look at him, and the surrounding hills echoed with their laughter.

* * *

><p>"You two are really somethin', you know that?" said Luke as he closed their bedroom door later. Once Rosco had recovered from the shock of catching Bo and Darla, he'd slapped them with whatever fines he could think of. Once they'd gotten home, Jesse had shaken his head in exasperation at the two of them; Luke and Daisy had both gotten a good laugh out of it.<p>

"Nah, _she's_ really somethin', Luke," said Bo, flopping back on his bed and staring at the ceiling.

Luke couldn't help but smile at Bo's cheesy grin. "You look like the cat what caught the canary," said Luke, "and you didn't even catch it!"

"Not tonight, thanks to Rosco," said Bo, still staring at the ceiling.

"Hmph," said Luke. "Just be careful from now on, okay? You get caught again and it won't matter what you say, Uncle Jesse'll have you two at the altar within the hour."

Bo laughed softly. "Yeah, he probably would," he agreed. "Although to tell ya the truth, I don't think I'd mind. I mean, I know Darla wants a weddin', and I'm more than happy to have one, but I just wanna marry her."

"Well, we can't rush it too much," said Luke, "or the shine won't be ready."

Bo chuckled again. "True—I just don't want to wait," he said, and turned to face Luke, his face suddenly serious. "I've never loved anyone like her, Luke. And I've never _been _in love like I am with her. I just—I guess I'm just afraid of losing it, is all."

"Well, I don't think you're going to, Bo," said Luke. "She loves you. There's no question in my mind about that. Before you know it, you'll be standin' at that altar sayin' 'I do.' You got nothin' to worry about." Then slowly he smiled again. "You know that's why Rosco chased y'all up there; he thought Uncle Jesse was goin' to check a still!"

Bo laughed again. "Yeah, he'll probably be chasin' us all over Hazzard these next few months, tryin' to catch us with it 'fore the weddin'. Good thing we ain't the only Dukes that know how to make 'shine!"

Luke laughed with him. "That look on Enos's face had to have been priceless," he said.

"I think Rosco's was just as good," said Bo, and they both laughed again.


	2. The Newest Duke

"Bo? Bo!"

"Hmm?"

"Geez, Bo, I said five-eighths, not three-quarters, would ya pay attention?" Bo and Luke were working on the General Lee. Or rather, Luke was doing the work, while Bo was staring toward the road and barely hearing what his cousin was saying.

"Sorry," Bo said vaguely, and started fishing for the right socket. Luke shook his head and hid a smile; he knew what was distracting his blond-haired cousin. "A watched pot never boils, ya know," he said.

"Huh?" Bo handed Luke the socket.

"You've been starin' at the road all afternoon! I know you miss her, but you can't make her just magically appear out of thin air," Luke teased. He tightened the last bolt down on his side of the engine, handed the socket wrench to Bo and reached for the air filter. Bo quietly tightened the rest of the bolts while Luke reattached the filter housing to the air hose.

Luke looked at his cousin as they eased it down on top of the engine. The biggest reason Bo could never hide how he felt, was because it showed so plainly on his face. He looked like a dejected puppy. "It's been almost a month, Luke," Bo mumbled. "I can't stand it anymore."

Darla had taken Sunken Treasure, her family's prize stallion, back to her family's farm outside of Lexington. Darla had a lot of legal wrangling to do, to turn operation of the farm over to her cousin while keeping her family's stallion bloodline under her exclusive ownership. She also had things she wanted to bring back to the Duke farm.

It would be the first time she'd set foot on Treasure Green since she'd been forced to run for her life over a year before. Bo had wanted to go with her more than anything, but it was time for early harvest, and Uncle Jesse said he needed him at the farm. That conversation had not gone well. Fortunately, Darla had managed to get Bo out of the house before any yelling started.

_Bo kicked the porch rail, knocking a splinter off, then leaned against it and ran his hands through his hair. Darla folded her arms; she didn't say anything, she just waited. He finally extended one hand to her. She took it and let Bo pull her close and wrap his arms around her. "I can't let you go, Darla," he whispered. _

_She looked up and frowned with concern at the look on his face. "Bo, what's really wrong?" she asked._

_Bo raised his hand and stroked her cheek. "I can't do it," he said. "I can't be without you ever again, remember?"_

_She covered his hand with hers. "Bo, you're acting like I'm going to Kentucky and never coming back."_

_"Kentucky's still your home," he said, looking away. "What if you get there an' decide you wanna stay?"_

_She raised her hand and turned Bo's head, forcing him to look at her. "__This__ is my home, too," she said firmly. "I know that. I know I belong here, with you. I'm doing the right thing, letting Connor run the farm. It's not a job I was cut out to do. But Treasure can't stay here any longer; he belongs at Treasure Green. I have to take him back. I need to go back, too. I have a lot of explaining to do, to a lot of nervous shareholders. And I want to see the farm again. And…I need to say my goodbyes."_

_"I don't want you to have to go alone," said Bo. "I should be there with you."_

_She smiled a little. "Life can't always give you what you think you should have. And besides, this isn't the last time I'll head for Kentucky; I'll be going back a lot. And you won't always have to stay here while I go."_

_She could tell Bo was trying not to argue. "Bo, I'll be back," she said._

_"Promise me," he said, taking her face in his hands and touching his forehead to hers. "Promise me you'll come back."_

_"I'll come back," she said softly. "I promise; I'll always come back."_

So, Bo had swallowed hard the morning Darla left for Lexington, and watched her blue rig and trailer disappear in a cloud of dust. It was only the fact that Darla wasn't going alone that kept Bo's heart from breaking as she drove away. Daisy had offered to go with her.

Luke missed them both. For one thing, the food was lacking; Uncle Jesse was a great cook, but he was working just as hard as the boys were. And Bo was driving him crazy. Jesse had kept them busy getting the early crops and hay in, but the work seemed harder this year. Bo wasn't exactly sulking—he didn't have time—but his easy smile, his usual banter and conversations that made the work go by faster were lacking.

Darla and Daisy had called almost every night, but it hadn't lifted Bo's spirits much. From what Luke could get from their end of the phone conversations, things weren't going well in Kentucky. Darla had to postpone coming home twice, because her family's lawyers and shareholders kept finding things to disagree about. The one time she'd called crying out of frustration, Bo had been so hell-bent on taking off for Kentucky that Luke and Uncle Jesse had to hide all the car keys.

Once they'd finally gotten a break from the harvest work, he hadn't wanted to go fishing or swimming. He'd taken to staying in the pasture with Netty and her colt, working on haltering and leading the spunky foal Darla had dubbed "Frisk." It was only after some persuading that Luke had gotten Bo to help work on the General, and in truth, his cousin was being more of a hindrance.

"I know you miss her, Bo," Luke said again. _Lord, don't I know it, _he thought. Normally, Luke would have chided him about acting this way—they'd always teased each other about their love lives—but he'd mostly refrained from it with Darla. _Plenty of time to tease him about havin' a ball and chain later, anyway,_ he thought. He spun the wing nut on top of the filter housing and tightened it down. "But they called from Chattanooga, they'll be here soon," he said.

"I know, but…" Bo looked back toward the road again and heaved a sigh.

Luke shook his head, grinning. "You're hopeless, cuz. Back up," he said, and lowered the General's hood.

_"Lost sheep? Lost Sheep, come in, this is Bo Peep!"_

Both of their heads snapped around at Daisy's voice, coming from the General's CB. Bo ran for the mic, but Luke was quicker. "Daisy! Good to hear from ya!" he said. Bo made a grab for the mic, but Luke dodged him. "You travelin' by yourself? Or have you got a certain redhead with ya?"

After a second, they heard another voice. _"This is Little Lamb with Bo Peep, come back!"_

"Darla!" said Bo. He made another grab for the mic, but Luke, grinning, held it away from him. "Yeah, this here's Lost Sheep, Little Lamb," Luke drawled, "Only thing is there's two of us, which one are ya lookin' for?"

_"The cute one."_

"Well now, that don't narrow it down much!" Luke teased, laughing at Bo's repeated attempts to grab the mic. "Can ya be a little more specific?"

They heard Darla giggle. _"The tall, handsome, blonde one, with great big blue eyes and who probably has a look on his face like a puppy left out in the rain,"_ she said.

Luke burst out laughing. Bo finally grabbed the mic, but Luke was laughing too hard to care. "Oh man, Bo, she's got you pegged!" said Luke, still laughing.

Bo gave Luke a playful shove. "Darla?"

_"Hey, darlin'! Little Lamb is back in Hazzard!"_

Bo smiled from ear to ear. "Little Lamb, huh?" he laughed.

_"Well, I had to come up with something that fit the family theme, didn't I?"_ said Darla. _"I thought about going with Billy Goat, but it just didn't work for me."_

Bo and Luke both laughed at that one. "Oh, Darla darlin', you got no idea how good it is to hear you back on the Hazzard Net!" said Bo. "What's your twenty?"

_"What's yours?"_

"We're in front of the house, why?"

_"Hang on a minute."_

Bo and Luke turned toward the road. They could hear the faint sound of a large engine. Slowly it grew louder, until finally they saw a large green truck and gooseneck trailer come around the bend and turn off the road into the farmyard.

Bo's face lit up like a summer morning as he jogged toward it. Luke shook his head, smiling. "That boy is _beyond_ hopeless," he said to himself. "Uncle Jesse, they're back!" he hollered toward the farmhouse.

The rig pulled up next to the General Lee, with Daisy laughing in the passenger seat. Next to her, with fiery auburn hair and a huge smile, was Darla. Bo had the driver's door open as soon as she brought the truck to a stop. A second later he was swinging her in a circle in his arms, laughing.

"Luke!" Daisy climbed down from the truck and threw her arms around her cousin.

Luke laughed and lifted her off her feet in a bear hug. "Hey, pretty cuz, we missed you! How was Kentucky?"

"Oh, it was great!" Daisy was so excited her words were tumbling out of her. "Lexington is such a wonderful city, and Darla's farm was just beautiful! Her mama's family is just the nicest bunch of folks, and wait 'til you see what we brought back! Oh, but it's good to be home, I missed y'all—Uncle Jesse!" Daisy threw her arms around Jesse, who had just come outside.

"Hey, there she is!" Jesse laughed, hugging her. "Ya made it back! Where's Darla?"

All three of them looked around, but Bo and Darla were nowhere to be seen. "Darla?" Luke went around to the driver's side, then grinned and shook his head. The others joined him and saw why they were so quiet. Bo was leaning up against the trailer, Darla had her arms around his neck, and the two of them were in a lip lock that showed no signs of ending anytime soon.

Daisy giggled. "You know, she teased Bo about that puppy dog look, but by the end of the trip she wasn't doin' much better," she said.

Luke chuckled a little. "Uh, Bo, you gonna let her come up for air?" Without breaking the kiss, Bo gave Luke a shooing motion with his arm.

"You keep that up, you're gonna wind up with vapor lock, the pair of ya!" Luke teased.

That got Darla; she started laughing. "Did you miss me?" she said, smiling up at Bo.

Bo smiled back. "Yeah, you could say that," he said, and wrapped his arms further around her, resting his cheek on her hair as she laid her head on his chest. The look on his face didn't escape the others. It wasn't just sheer happiness that Darla was back; there was also relief. His whole body language changed; he looked truly relaxed and happy with Darla back in his arms.

"Hey, doesn't the soon-to-be-cuz get a hug, too?" said Luke with a smile. Darla smiled again and ran to Luke. Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed his cheek and said, "It's good to see you too!" She then threw her arms around Jesse. "Oh, it really is good to be back in Hazzard!" she said. "I'm sick of being stuck inside a conference room with lawyers, and I never thought I'd say it, but I'm sick of driving too!"

"Yeah, speakin' of that," said Bo, putting his arm around her again, "I thought you said you were gonna leave the rig in Lexington!"

"I did!" said Darla. "This is a different one; it's green!" The others laughed a little. "Well, I needed a dually to bring things back!" Darla said innocently.

Bo laughed. "You mean to tell me you brought all this stuff of yours back? Darla darlin', this'll take up half the house!"

"Well, it would, if it was all meant for the house," said Darla, "But there was something special I just couldn't leave behind." She flashed a grin at Daisy, and disappeared through the trailer's side door.

Daisy opened the trailer's gate. "Help me with this, boys," she said, and started to pull the ramp down. Bo and Luke ran to help, and saw something on four wheels covered with what looked like an Army parachute in the trailer. "Now what in the Sam Hill is this?" said Bo, walking up the ramp.

"This," said Darla, "is the newest Duke. Or least it will be. Here, help me push."

Bo slid his way in past it and joined her at the back of the trailer. They gave it a heave; the car moved slowly down the tracks and rolled to a stop in the yard. Daisy smiled in anticipation as Darla and Bo walked back down the ramp.

"Gentlemen," said Darla, and she yanked on the tarp and revealed the vehicle.

Bo and Luke's jaws dropped. "Oh…" they said.

It was a 1968 Pontiac Firebird. The paint was a faded, dusty blue, the rims were rusted, the hood and back fender were dented, the seats were split across the front and most of the lights were shattered, but still…it was a '68 Firebird.

"It's a heap," said Darla, "and it doesn't run—yet. But it's definitely got potential."

Bo and Luke both gave an excited laugh at the sight. "Oh, Darla darlin', where did you find this?" said Bo. He and Luke were already crowding around it like two kids looking through the front window of a candy store.

"It was Jonas's car," Darla said. Her smile grew a little sad. "He bought it about month before…before the fire. He planned on having it restored. Remember, I said didn't matter if it had four wheels or four hooves; Papa and Jonas loved anything that could fly." Her smile widened. "Check under the hood," she said, and leaned through the door to pop the hood latch.

Bo caught it and raised the hood; the cousins stared in wonder at the engine. "You gotta be kiddin' me," Luke breathed. "This is a Ram Air II 400," he said almost reverently.

"The fastest production engine Pontiac's ever built," said Darla with a note of pride in her voice. "There's some quarter-mile times this engine has clocked that haven't been beat." She put an arm around Bo, who was still staring into the engine. "It needs rebuilding before it'll ever run; whoever owned it before ran it into the ground. I figure Cooter can do a lot of the legwork, and then you guys can teach me a thing or two. This machine is gonna give the General a run for his money."

Bo and Luke laughed; Bo put both his arms around Darla and smiled down at her. He knew just how much seeing this car restored would mean to her. "We'll do your brother proud, hon," he said.

"I know we will," said Darla, "But for now, I would like to do the _kitchen_ proud; I'm starving."

"Now, we all missed that!" said Bo. "And I missed you," he whispered to her. The others started heading inside. Darla started to follow, but Bo grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You're not gettin' away from me yet," he murmured, and kissed her. Darla put her arms around his neck as he lifted her up level with him. His arms wrapped tightly around her. He leaned back against the Firebird; he felt Darla sigh, and he kissed her deeper. He hoped no one would ask Darla to help with dinner; they had a lot of time to make up for.


	3. What Party?

After an evening of food, they sat listening to Daisy and Darla talk about their weeks in Lexington. "Everybody was so welcoming," said Daisy.

"I'll say," said Darla, "and our farm hands all took to Daisy. After a couple of days, I think Daisy'd had twelve offers for dates and at least two marriage proposals."

The others laughed. "Yeah, well, that sounds like Daisy; she's had that effect on men since she was twelve," said Luke.

"I have not!"

"Just on Enos, then," said Bo.

"Well, it's not like Darla didn't have the same effect!" said Daisy. "What about the party your friends threw for you at the Pony Inn?"

"Oh Daisy, don't," Darla moaned, but Daisy was already rooting through one of the boxes Darla had brought back, and came up with a photo envelope. "All of Daisy's girlfriends threw her a surprise bachelorette party right before we left," she said.

"A _what?_" said Bo.

"And of course, somebody just _had_ to bring a camera," Darla finished grimly. Her cheeks were turning bright red.

Daisy glanced at Bo; he still had a shocked look on his face, but Bo's first reaction after a rude shock was usually anger. Luke saw it too. "The Pony Inn?" he said, trying to distract him.

"It's our version of the Boar's Nest," said Darla. "Everybody went there; the farm hands, the trainers, the jockeys, the managers, some of the owners, and a lot of the owners' kids. The rule was you left your job at the door; everybody was an equal. A lot of labor disputes got solved over a few drinks at the Pony. Of course, a few feuds got started there, too."

The others crowded around her as Daisy started flipping through photos. Darla was easy to pick out, with her red hair, laughing at the camera with several other pretty girls, all holding drinks.

"Wait—is that you on the bar?" Luke started laughing at another picture. "And why are all the guys holding up dollar bills?"

Darla sighed; her cheeks started turning red. "A bar dance was on my bachelorette 'to-do' list, no thanks to my friend Leann, since I made her do it at _her_ bachelorette party," she said. "I went along with it."

Bo's jaw was working. Another photo showed her in the center of about twelve guys. "And this one?" asked Bo. He trying to keep his tone light, but his eyes said otherwise.

Darla noticed. "Most of them were my debutante escorts, friends of the family, that sort of thing," she said, and starting pointing them out. "That's Chris Macy; his father is the manager of the country club. That's Michael Cormer, his family owns the farm next to ours; I've known him all my life. There's Thomas McCann—you're going to have to give him an autograph when you meet him, he's a big fan of yours from your NASCAR days. And that's Matthew, Jacob, Christian, Taylor, and Andy, all friends from high school and college and other farms."

"And that," she said, pointing to a stocky man with red hair, "Is Connor, my cousin. He's the one running the farm's operation now that I've bowed out." She smiled. "I think he had more fun than I did that night; it was kind of a celebration for him too. He's got the chance of a lifetime in running Treasure Green. It's what he's always wanted to do. I'm glad I could make that happen for him." She looked through a few more photos. "Wait a minute—Daisy, where's the one of you and me on the bar?"

"Oh, isn't that one there?" said Daisy innocently.

"C'mon, Daisy, cough it up," said Luke, holding his hand out. Daisy made a face, then pulled another snapshot out of her purse. Even Bo laughed at the sight of the two girls standing on the bar, pouring shots into the boys' mouths. "Man, don't let Boss know you done that!" he said.

"We were pouring potcheen; Irish moonshine," said Darla. "We always had it at the Pony. I'm sure some will turn up at the wedding."

"Well, at least you had a good time," said Bo. He was trying to hide it, but he still looked upset.

"I missed you, though," Darla said quietly. "It would have been great if you'd been there; everyone wanted to meet you. My family and friends are already planning another wedding party for us in Kentucky. But the bachelorette party was nice; it was a great send-off." She turned back to the others. "I wish all of you could have come to see Treasure Green, but at least you got to come, Daisy. If you hadn't, I think I would have gone crazy."

"Oh it was my pleasure, I had a great time!" said Daisy. "I don't think I've ever gotten farther from home than New Orleans!"

"Well, I'm glad I had someone to help me sort through everything to bring back, or I'd probably still be there," said Darla. "It took me a little while to find it all, but I think I got just about everything I wanted."

"I still don't know where we're gonna find room for all this," said Bo, looking toward the cartons around the living room. What all's in these boxes, anyway?"

Darla looked around. "Some of it is clothes; there's some things from my room, Mama's cedar chest, a lot of pictures, things from the house…things I didn't want to live without, mostly."

"What's in this one?" asked Bo, going for a large, flat carton by the couch.

"Oh, no! You stay outta _that_ one!" said Darla.

"Bo, don't you dare!" Daisy chimed in.

"What? Is it _that_ secret?" In spite of his being upset, Bo laughed.

"It's my wedding dress, and you don't get one peek at it, Bo! Nor either of you two!" said Darla, pointing at Luke and Jesse.

"Now hang on, I ain't marryin' ya!" said Luke, and grabbed the carton.

"You put that down, Luke!" Darla yelled, and jumped on his back. Luke dropped the carton and made a grab for her, but she wrapped an arm around his neck and kicked him in the back of the knee. They both dropped to the rug and rolled. Darla was strong—Luke forgot just how strong she was for her size—but he had the longer legs, and finally swept her out from behind him and pinned her.

"All right, enough!" said Jesse. Luke and Darla were both laughing as Luke let go. "You're not a bad fighter for a shrimp," he teased.

Darla mock-punched him in the shoulder and sat down next to Bo again. "What happened to protecting me?" she said.

"You looked like you were doin' pretty well on your own," said Bo. He tried to smile, but he was still tense.

Darla saw it, but she couldn't say anything with everyone else around. "I'm going to check on Netty and Frisk again, will you come with me?" she said.

"Sure," he said, and got up quickly without waiting for her. Darla gave the others a glance; Luke gave her a _you-know-how-he-is_ look. She followed Bo out the door.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" said Darla, catching up to him.

Bo stopped and looked down at her, hands on his hips. "I dunno what I am," he said. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised by Darla having a bachelorette party, but…it seemed like he'd been waiting forever for her to come back, and then finding out…

"I believe the word is _jealous,_" said Darla.

Bo frowned; he really didn't like being the jealous type. He never had been, until Darla had come into his life. "Did you date any of those guys?"

"Yes," said Darla, folding her arms. "And I have a feeling I could stay in Hazzard for a year or two and still keep meeting women you've dated."

Bo's frown deepened, but he couldn't deny it. Darla's expression softened a little. "Bo, you don't really think—"

"No," Bo said quickly. "No, I don't. I just…did any of those guys get fresh with you?" he finally blurted out.

Darla gave a surprised laugh. "No, of course not. Well, Chris Macy tried, but—"

"Which one was he?" Bo demanded. His hands tightened on her arms as he said it.

"Bo, I could put _you_ flat on your back if I tried hard enough," she said. "I did it to Ernie, remember? And Chris is maybe half Ernie's size; all I had to do with him was shove."

"What did he try to do to you?" Bo's voice was rising; he was getting angrier.

Darla quickly twisted her arms and broke his grip. She hated being manhandled, and Bo knew it. She felt her temper rising as well, but she bit it back. Bo's emotions were getting the better of him; she couldn't do the same, or they'd both be shouting. "Bo, you're blowing this way out of proportion," she said.

Bo took a deep breath, but he was still glaring at her. "I know what's been done to you," he said, his voice softer. "I told you, I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you again."

Darla smiled a little. "Always my protector, aren't you?"

"That's right, and I take that job seriously," said Bo.

Darla heard the concern in his voice. "You are worrying over nothing," she said. "He didn't get what he was after. I would never do that to you."

Bo sighed, looking sheepish. "I know," he murmured. He put his arms around her. "I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't do nothin'. I guess you're right; I am jealous." He looked down at her. "And, I don't like the idea of sharin' you," he finished, grinning a little.

"Who said anything about sharing?" Darla said indignantly, catching Bo's teasing look. She took his hand. "For the record, I don't like the idea of sharing you, either," she said, looking up at him. "And unless I miss my guess, your bachelor party will be an event to remember, and more than one girl will be trying to get one last romp out of you. I'm sure Susie Lynn Peterson will try."

Bo couldn't stop a smile as he shook his head at her. None of the local girls wanted to believe Bo would settle down. After all, none of them could tame him. And the fact that they'd made the wedding date for November made everyone realize Bo wasn't being forced into marriage because there was a baby on the way. Susie Lynn had made the mistake of trying to challenge Darla at the Boar's Nest. Before Bo and Luke could jump in, Susie Lynn was holding a bruised jaw and picking whiskey-soaked glass out of her hair.

"Susie Lynn can try all she wants; she ain't gonna get anywhere," he said, running a hand through her hair. "'Cause you're the only one I want, now."

Darla sighed as Bo kissed her. "You do know how to stop an argument," she murmured as they broke apart.

Bo couldn't resist smiling. "So,do I get to see that bar dance you did?"

"No!" said Darla, turning scarlet again. "Believe me, all the guys were laughing; I looked like an idiot!"

Bo laughed a little too. "What'd you do to Chris Macy, anyway?"

Darla raised her eyebrows. "You really want me to show you?"

Bo pretended to think for a minute. "No," he finally said. "If you're gonna lay me out on my back, I can think of a better way for you to do it." They both laughed as they started for the barn again.

Watching from the kitchen window, Daisy asked, "Ya think I shoulda warned him?"

"Definitely not," said Luke. "He was enough of a basket case as it was. I'da sent him up your way if you'd been gone any longer, he was drivin' us crazy. If he'd known about that party…" Luke just shook his head. "How do ya think she'll take his bachelor party?"

"She said as long as you keep Bo outta trouble, and keep both of yourselves outta jail, she'll do fine," said Daisy, and they both smiled.

* * *

><p>Bo lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling. He was tired, but sleep was still eluding him. He and Darla had stayed in the barn as long as they dared. It may have been Darla's first night back, but Bo knew better that to think Jesse would let them too long out there alone.<p>

He smiled a little to himself. Their time in the loft had been more than enough to wear him out; he could have fallen asleep tangled in her arms. He drew a swift breath as he remembered the feel of her skin brushing against him like hot silk, and the taste of her lips, sweeter than homemade wine.

He rolled over again. It was getting harder to fall asleep in his own bed, when he wanted to feel Darla close to him. He hoped the autumn would pass quickly, so they could have their wedding and finally share a bed together. He knew he would be the happiest man alive, with Darla as his wife.

And yet…

He still didn't feel completely peaceful. He didn't want to admit it, but there was something, in the very back of his mind, that was making him a uneasy.

He didn't know why it bothered him, really. He didn't know every detail about Darla's life before she came to Hazzard, but he knew she was quite popular. A bachelorette was a ready-made excuse for a party, no matter where the bride-to-be came from. And while he was sure the Hazzard ladies would give Darla a bridal shower, but he doubted there would be too many Hazzard girls willing to congratulate her enough for a bachelorette party, apart from Daisy. It was good thing she'd had one in her hometown. And, he admitted to himself, it was probably better that he didn't know about it until after it happened.

And while they'd talked a little about their past relationships, they hadn't gone into a lot of detail. _Why wouldn't there be someone back home who was unwilling to let her go?_ He thought to himself. _Admit it—it took everything you had to let her go, and it broke your heart. At least you got her back._

But—what if there was still someone else who could still catch her eye?

_Stop it,_ he said to himself. _Darla would never do that. She'd never hurt you like that, and she'd never lie to you. And Daisy was there, remember? And Daisy wouldn't lie to cover for anyone. Darla was right—you're worryin' over nothin'._

Bo rolled over again, and felt his eyelids finally start to droop. He tried to imagine Darla curled up next to him as he finally drifted off to sleep.

"_When people start to feed negative thoughts, they start to feed the seed of doubt. The seeds of doubt take root. The root develops into a tree of despair." –John Di Lemme_


	4. Legends of Old

The smell of coffee, dew and mist filled Bo's nose as he awoke the next morning. He stretched and yawned as he rolled over, and heard Luke do the same. He glanced out the window; the sky was quickly brightening from grey to blue, it was still early. Suddenly he heard a high-pitched whinny. He got up and looked out the window. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear hooves running in the dirt. Had Netty and Frisk gotten loose?

"C'mon, git up there!" he heard Darla say.

_She's up already? _Bo thought as he turned and grabbed his clothes. After grabbing coffee from the kitchen, he headed outside for the paddock on the far side of the barn. Darla stood in the middle, with a long whip in each hand. Netty was cantering in circles around her, with Frisk close by her side. Darla dropped the whips; Netty slowed to a trot. Darla changed the whips again; Netty broke into a lope and looped in a loose figure eight around her.

Frisk kept close to his mother, doing as she did. The head trainer at Treasure Green, a grizzled but kind man of questionable age, had always rejected the idea that a foal could not or should not be trained so young. Not everything a horse knew as a foal was from instinct. In a way, foals were trained in basic commands from birth by their mothers, and would follow their dams without question. By running a mare through basic command sessions with her foal, the foal would learn the commands as well. "Keep it short, and keep it focused," Thomas had taught her. "By the time you get a young one in the ring by himself, he'll surprise both of you with how much he knows."

Bo leaned on the fence and watched her. The early morning light shone on her dark red braid. Her pale skin stood out in sharp contrast to the dark t-shirt and jeans she was wearing. Her gold-flecked hazel eyes watched the mare and foal intently; she was in her element here.

Darla caught his eye and smiled as she turned away from him, following Netty and Frisk around the corral. God, she was beautiful. She was the most amazing girl—no, woman, he corrected himself—in the world, and by the grace of God, he got to be with her forever. Nothing was going to stop that.

"Whoa," she finally said, and dropped the whips. Netty slowed to a trot; Darla raised her hand and the mare slowed to a walk. "That's my girl," Darla murmured to her as the mare touched her nose to Darla's outstretched hand.

Bo climbed through the fence. Frisk pricked his ears and took a few steps toward him. Bo knelt down as the colt approached him, and ran his hands over his body and down his forelegs. Frisk was accustomed to Bo's touch, and rubbed his head against Bo's chest. Bo chuckled and scratched the foal behind his ears.

"What were you smiling at?" he heard her say. She was looking at him with an amused smile as he turned toward her.

Bo shrugged. "I just got to get up this mornin' and feast my eyes on the most beautiful thing in the world," he said, returning her smile.

"It was a beautiful sunrise, wasn't it?" she said, walking up to him. Bo rolled his eyes and grabbed her around the waist; Darla laughed as he pulled her into his arms. He bent his head and kissed her before she made another joke.

He'd meant for it to be quick, but as he felt the softness of her lips, the brush of her breath on his cheek, and the way her body seemed to conform to his, he couldn't help it. His arms tightened around her; he sighed and kissed her deeper. All his worries from the night before seemed to melt away; he wondered why he'd ever been worried in the first place.

Darla sighed as they broke apart. "Now _that's_ a good morning," she murmured.

"I'll say," said Bo. "Only thing that coulda made it better was if I got to wake up next to you."

"Soon," said Darla. Bo moved to kiss her again, but suddenly he lurched sideways. "Hey!" He started and looked down. Frisk had managed to grab hold of Bo's shirt with his little milk teeth and was tugging, trying to get his attention. They both laughed and led the foal and his mother to the pasture.

As they came in the kitchen door, Daisy was moving around the kitchen starting breakfast, Luke was pouring coffee, and Jesse was putting the phone down with an exasperated sigh.

"Who was that, Uncle Jesse?" asked Bo, as Darla started helping Daisy.

"Oh, it was Jeremiah Wilson," said Jesse. "He's found a couple 'o dead sheep this mornin'; mighta been a coyote or a cougar."

"He's not goin' with that story about the Phantom Panther again, is he?" said Bo. Luke snorted into his coffee; from what he could gather from their end of the conversation, he most certainly had been.

"What's the Phantom Panther?" asked Darla.

"Oh, it's an old Indian legend," said Luke. "Whenever livestock around here turns up dead or missin', it's usually the Phantom Panther that gets the blame."

"All the same," said Jesse, "You boys should head over there once chores are done. If there's a varmint killin' sheep, somethin'll have to be done about it."

"Yessir," Bo and Luke mumbled.

* * *

><p>After morning chores, Bo and Luke headed out to the General Lee. Bo gave the General a stretch as they headed for Jeremiah Wilson's farm. As they headed down the dirt roads, Bo was still thinking about his morning kiss with Darla; his daydreaming caused him to almost miss a turn.<p>

"Watch it!" yelled Luke. Bo snapped out of his reverie just in time, and the General swerved around the hairpin turn. Luke looked over at his cousin. "What're you thinkin' about? You've taken that turn a thousand times!"

"Nothin'!" said Bo.

"Yeah, nothin's right! You're more than a little distracted!"

"Yeah, well…it's a good mornin', that's all," sad Bo.

"Uh-huh," said Luke. "Your good _mornin'_ wouldn't have anything to do with the good _night_ you had, would it?" Luke grinned as he said it. Bo shot him a look, but he couldn't quite hide a smile. "None o' your business," he said, his face turning a little red.

They pulled up to the barn on Wilson's property. Jeremiah was standing out front, scowling at them. Jeremiah had gotten out of running 'shine a few years before Jesse, at his wife's insistence, and now herded sheep. But he and Uncle Jesse were still good friends—at least, Jesse was as much of a friend to Jeremiah as he'd let anyone be. And when he had trouble, he knew Jesse would send either himself or the boys to his aid.

"Mornin', Jeremiah!" said Bo, as they pulled themselves out of the General.

"Hmph!" said the old farmer. "Lost two ewes last night to that panther; don't know why Jesse don't buy into that," Jeremiah muttered.

"Now, Jeremiah—"

"Bo," said Luke. _Don't start,_ his look said plainly. "Jeremiah, where are them sheep at?"

"Found' em out on the tree line by Devil's Ridge; brung 'em back here," Jeremiah muttered. "There's not much left o' one of 'em."

In the barn, Jeremiah showed them the remains. Bo and Luke knelt by the first one; Bo grimaced as he moved the carcass this way and that. "Well, it's dead," he said.

"Yeah, an' it's been pretty well chewed up," said Luke, wrinkling his nose.

"Whaddya think got it?"

"Coulda been almost anything," said Luke. He looked at one of the hind legs. "Maybe coyotes—"

"It weren't no coyotes!" said Jeremiah. "I ain't heard no howlin'; I done heard that panther screamin!"

Bo rolled his eyes again. Luke ignored him and went to the second carcass. He frowned as he rolled it over. "Bo, look at this," he said quietly.

Bo looked at the young sheep and the marks on its flesh, visible through the reddened wool. "No coyote caused that," he said.

"Nothin' with four legs caused that," said Luke. He went back to the other carcass. "It's here, too, look," he said.

"What's there?" asked Jeremiah.

"Knife marks," said Luke. "Some animal may have gotten to this one, but they've both got butcher marks on 'em. I hate to tell you this, Jeremiah, but it looks like somebody's been poachin' on your property."

* * *

><p>The Boar's Nest was fairly quiet that morning. Daisy was getting things set up for the lunch crowd and chatting about wedding plans with the redhead behind the bar. Darla had taken to bartending at the Boar's Nest after returning to Hazzard. Boss had originally been against it, until Darla said she would work for tips only. Of course, that didn't stop Boss from putting her on the payroll and kicking back her paycheck-and all her tax withholdings-to himself.<p>

She certainly didn't need the money, but she was good at it, and she figured it was a good way to meet people. Almost everyone wanted to know more about the girl that had finally managed to tame a Duke boy. A few of the girls were less than pleased with her, but after her encounter with Susie Lynn Peterson, the unfriendly ones kept their distance. Most people were welcoming and curious, and were quickly charmed by her.

As Daisy headed to the storeroom, the front door opened, and Enos walked in. Darla saw his eyes sweep the room; his face seemed to fall a little. "Hey, Enos!" she called from the bar.

"Oh, hey Darla!" said Enos, brightening a little. Darla smiled at him; it had taken Enos over a week to look her in the eye after he and Rosco had caught her with Bo. Darla was thankful he could finally talk to her without turning red.

"Where's Cletus? Isn't he with you today?"

"Oh, he's over in Chickasaw, helpin' his Uncle Ben finish the harvest," said Enos.

"Have a seat; what can I pour for you?"

"Oh, nothin', thanks; I'm on duty. I just came in to grab some lunch. What's the special today?"

"I think the _special_ is eggs, leftover from this morning," said Darla with a grin. "But, I made up a batch of chicken salad; I'd be happy to make you a sandwich."

"That'd be great, thanks," he said.

As Darla headed for the kitchen, Daisy came out of the storeroom. "Enos!" she exclaimed.

From the kitchen, Darla saw Enos's face light up as he turned and saw her. She watched them for a moment as they talked. She'd seen them together before, but this was the first time she'd seen them have a moment to themselves. Working with horses who couldn't speak like humans had forced her to read every non-verbal cue they had, so she could get them to work with her. It gave her the ability to read people fairly quickly. As she watched the two of them, she learned more in that moment than she had in several miles on the highway from Lexington to Hazzard.

Daisy patted Enos on the cheek and went to set tables as Darla came back to the bar. "Here you go, Enos," she said, putting a sandwich and a glass of sweet tea in front of him.

"Thanks," he said, and took a bite. He grunted in surprise; the chicken salad at the Boar's Nest was usually just a blob of mayonnaise; you were lucky to find any meat in it. But Darla's was chock-full of meat, celery, onion, nuts, and what tasted like apples. "You used Daisy's baked chicken for this, didn't you?" He said, taking another bite.

"Yep, and that's her fresh-baked bread, too," said Darla. Enos sighed in appreciation as he took another bite. "You really like Daisy's cooking, don't you?" asked Darla. Enos just nodded, his mouth too full to answer. Darla hesitated; then she lowered her voice and asked, "You really like Daisy, don't you?"

Enos looked down at his plate, but Darla saw the flush in his cheeks. "More 'n anything," he finally murmured.

Darla glanced up; Daisy was busy greeting a table. "You know, I don't understand you two," she said. "You were all set to get married, you postponed the wedding, and…" She shrugged. "That was four years ago. What happened?"

Enos felt a little annoyed, but he guessed he shouldn't be surprised that Darla would have found out about their almost-wedding. "Well, now, that's kinda private, Darla," he said.

Darla smiled. "Maybe to you, but not to me," she said. "I spend all my time reading four-legged animals that don't speak English; it makes the two-legged ones pretty easy." She paused and said, "Bo said you've barely courted her since then. I'm trying to understand why, when it's pretty obvious how you feel."

Enos gave her a slightly troubled look. "You won't say nothin'?" he asked after a moment.

Darla frowned. "Not if you don't want me to," she finally said.

Enos took another bite of sandwich, and chewed slowly as he thought about his answer. Finally, he said, "The truth is, I've tried a whole buncha times. Except for the Centennial Dance, I guess I'd always panic an' talk myself out of it."

Darla looked a bit surprised at that. "Did you think she'd turn you down, just because had the choice?"

Enos didn't answer, but his downcast eyes told Darla the answer. "Enos, whether or not she married you was _always_ her choice. She could have backed out of the wedding; they caught those bank robbers, she didn't have to testify," said Darla. "I realize the Dukes are brought up to keep their word, but I don't think Daisy's the type to marry anyone out of obligation."

Darla left out that she knew Bo and Luke had tried to talk her out of the wedding, but that Daisy was determined to go through with it. _Some_ of that may have been obligation, but the rest…well, Darla was just as good at reading Daisy as she was reading Enos. "No one's expecting you to jump right into matrimony, but you could at least take a step, and see where it leads," she said.

Enos smiled a little, but remained quiet. "Enos, do you know what _carpe diem_ is?" asked Darla.

Enos looked confused. "That some kinda catfish dish?"

Darla's eyes widened; she burst out laughing. "No," she giggled. "No, it's Latin. It means _seize the day_. It means, take the chance." She lowered her voice. "Right now, you're in love with a dream, Enos. You're in love with thoughts of what _could be_. But that's a far cry from loving what _is_." She looked at Daisy as she chatted with customers. "Daisy's got dreams of her own. There's no reason you can't make them come true for her. But, she's not going to wait forever. She made the first move before; I think she's waiting for you to make it now. But you have to take the chance." She put her hand over his, and looked into his eyes. "Believe me," she said, "Good things can happen when you do."

Enos smiled again as he looked at her. "I guess you'd know about that, wouldn't ya?" Darla nodded and smiled back.

The door opened again; Luke walked in with Uncle Jesse and Jeremiah. Bo followed them; for a second he froze, as he took in Darla at the bar. She was smiling at Enos, with one hand over his. Under any other circumstances, it would have looked like a lover's chat—except that it was Darla. _With Enos?_

Darla's head turned. Her entire face lit up as she saw him. "Bo!" she exclaimed.

Bo started to breathe again. He couldn't help but smile at her. The shock was gone; he tried to ignore the uneasiness that was still there.

Daisy and Darla brought the boys drinks. Darla stayed close to Bo at their table; Bo smiled again as he put an arm around her. The uneasy feeling slipped further away as they looked at each other.

The two old farmers were in the middle of a conversation. "—nothin' to say there's anythin' other than coyotes up there by Devil's Ridge," Jesse was saying. "It's the poachers we need to be worryin' about!"

"If there's poachers up there, the Phantom Panther can have 'em!" exclaimed Jeremiah. Luke rolled his eyes; even Jesse had a hard time not doing so.

"What's the Phantom Panther, again?" asked Darla.

"Oh, it's a legend that's been around these parts since the Indians lived here," said Bo. "Mister Wilson, you know the story the best, why don't you tell it?"

"Hmph!" Jeremiah snorted. But, Darla caught his eye; seeing her interest, he sat back and began the tale.

* * *

><p><em>In the beginning, the Great Spirit created all the animals on Earth. One night, the Great Spirit looked out over the world and saw that no creatures were stirring. He realized the creatures he had created were made for the day; he had created no animals for the night. So he reached into the black sky, and formed a giant cat, a panther, from the darkness. And he formed his eyes from the light of the stars. <em>

_The panther would prowl the forests and swamps each and every night. But because he had been created from the darkness, he could not exist in the light. As soon as the first rays of the sun touched the sky, he would disappear with the darkness as it vanished over the horizon._

_The panther terrified the other animals. They would hear him scream at night as he hunted his prey. Because he was made of the darkness, the other animals could not see him in the dark forests and swamps. All they saw were the tiny points of light from the panther's eyes before he devoured them. Every morning, more and more of the animals were missing. They went to the Great Spirit and said, "You must save us from this creature, or he will devour us all!" _

_The Great Spirit pondered this. He could not allow the Panther to destroy all the other animals, but he also could not undo what he had created. The next evening, as the sun was falling over the horizon, the Great Spirit heard the growl of the Panther in the Eastern sky. He looked and saw the panther's eyes in the stars, watching the Earth, deciding where to hunt. The other animals cowered in fear; there was nowhere they could hide where the panther could not find them._

_The Great Spirit realized the panther was waiting for total darkness to fall, so he could form himself again from the night sky. So he reached out and grabbed the very last piece of the sun before it disappeared over the horizon, and threw it back into the sky. The tiny piece hung in the sky as a glowing ball of white light. The panther screamed in anger and frustration; without total darkness, he could not form himself to hunt. The Great Spirit called the piece of light the Moon._

_Because the Great Spirit could not destroy the panther, he broke the moon into pieces. Each night he would take one piece out of the sky, so the animals could prepare themselves for the panther's return. When all the pieces were gone, the panther could hunt. But, since the Great Spirit had also created the moon, he could not undo that creation either. So, once the panther had hunted, the Great Spirit would start putting the pieces back into the sky. This is why you will never find a creature stirring on a night with no moon in the sky. They are all hiding in fear, hoping the panther will not find them._

* * *

><p>"Bwaaahhh!" Bo suddenly shouted, grabbing Darla's waist. Darla let out a shriek that made everyone jump. She'd been listening, wide-eyed, as Jeremiah told his story. All of them laughed.<p>

"That was amazing, Jeremiah!" said Darla.

"Yeah, he spins a good yarn, don't he?" said Luke.

"You youngins think it's a fairy tale, but there's more to it than that!" Jeremiah grumped.

"Aw, it's still a legend," said Bo. "One you an' Uncle Jesse used to tell us as kids so we wouldn't sneak out at night!"

Darla shrugged. "Most legends are born from truth," she said. "Don't try telling anyone from Ireland that Finn McCool was nothing but a legend."

As the Dukes continued talking among themselves, they didn't notice a stranger sitting the corner was listening to them. Eventually, he got up and went to the phone and dialed. "Yeah, it's me," he murmured. "We'll be stayin' longer. From what the locals are sayin', this may not be a wild goose chase after all. Your offer better still be standin'. Yeah, yeah, I got it—show the goods first." He hung up and left.

As the boys finished lunch and got ready to leave, Bo asked, "So what exactly were you talkin' to Enos about?"

"Just giving him a little advice on his love life," Darla said casually.

Daisy's jaw dropped. "You did _not!_" she exclaimed. Darla didn't answer; she tried to appear nonchalant, but she had to work hard to hide a smile.

"_What did you talk to him about?"_ Daisy demanded.

Darla just shrugged. "Catfish," she finally said, and stifled a laugh at Daisy's and Bo's thoroughly confused look.

* * *

><p>As Luke drove the General home, he glanced to his right. Despite Darla giving Bo a very personal goodbye when they left the Boar's Nest, his cousin was being abnormally quiet.<p>

"What's the matter?" Luke asked. Bo just shook his head. "Oh, come on, you're not upset 'cause Darla was talkin' with Enos, are ya?" said Luke.

Bo didn't answer. He knew it was nothing, and yet…that feeling of doubt was pricking at him again. Did she talk with every guy that way? What if she…_Stop thinkin' that, _he told himself sternly. But the image flashed through his head anyway—of Darla, flirting with someone else. It sent a cold sliver of fear through him.

"Bo." Luke waved his hand in front of Bo's face.

"What?" Bo snapped.

Luke shook his head a little. "Bo, you got nothin' to worry about," he said. "An' 'specially not with Enos!"

"I know," said Bo. He smiled a little to himself. It would be like Darla to want Enos and Daisy to be happy together. Heaven knew they'd been trying to get Enos to see sense about Daisy for years; maybe Darla could try a fresh approach. So why was it bothering him so much? What was making him so uneasy?


	5. Misunderstandings

Bo leaned back and sighed. He and Luke were mending the fence along their south forty. Two days of heavy rain meant they were ankle-deep in slop, struggling to wire the old, worn timbers back together. Bo groaned as his back complained from being hunched over for so long. The cooler air made it feel like fall, but the afternoon sun was still hot as it beat down on them.

"Whaddya say we take a break for a minute, Luke?" said Bo.

"Yeah, may as well," said Luke, groaning as he stood up. "We're almost outta wire anyway; I'll go and get some more," he said, throwing his shirt back on.

"All right; I think I'll just stretch out here 'til you get back," said Bo. He found a patch of relatively dry grass under a tree as Luke headed across the fields.

Luke left his shirt hanging loose as he walked, trying to cool off. As he headed toward the back of the barn, he saw their old archery target sitting out. He frowned; he didn't remember it being there earlier that morning. Fortunately, seeing it gave him a warning; a second later, he heard the twang of a bow and a loud _crack_. An arrow had missed the target and hit the support; the splintered remnants came flying at him. "Whoa!" he shouted as he dodged.

He heard a loud squeak in response. As he came around the corner, Darla was standing with a bow in one hand, her mouth covered with the other in horror. "Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry!" she breathed. "_Dios mio,_ I didn't hear you coming!"

"That's all right, you missed!" said Luke, laughing nervously. "What're you doin' out here? I thought you and Daisy were gonna work on weddin' plans until Cooter came to pick up your car!"

"He called on the CB and said he had a tow job that would take him to Capitol City," said Darla. "He won't be back for a while; I told him to wait until tomorrow. And I needed a break; I've looked at so many wedding cake designs today, I'm losing my sweet tooth. I thought I'd work on my target practice, but this is just making me frustrated," she said, gesturing with the bow. Bo had re-strung one of his old bows for her, and had been teaching her to shoot. "All my shots are going high," she muttered in disgust.

"Try it again," said Luke. "Just lemme get outta your line of fire first," he added, and smirked as Darla scowled at him. He watched as Darla nocked another arrow, sighted and let fly. The arrow spiraled up and away, glancing off the top of the target. "You see?" said Darla.

"Yep—you're cross-eyed," said Luke.

"Huh?"

"You're left-handed, but you're trying to sight with your right eye," said Luke. "Here, look." He took the bow from her and nocked another arrow. He didn't shoot well left-handed, but he could demonstrate. "Now, when you sight along your arrow, you want to use the eye that's closest to it. That gives you the most direct line of sight, see?" He pulled back and sighted the target. "For you, that's your left eye. If you try to sight with your right—" Luke changed eyes—"Your head moves down, and that pulls your arm outta whack. Sight with your left, and—" Luke changed eyes again, sighted and let fly; the arrow landed with a solid _thunk_ on the target.

"You try it now," he said, handing the bow back. He stood behind her as she nocked an arrow. "Now, turn your head this way," he said, gently putting his hands on either side of her face. "Right eye closed, left eye open. Take your sight, and let fly."

Darla released; the arrow arced high, but it hit the top of the target.

Darla smiled in surprise. "I did it!"

"'Course you did!" said Luke. "Here, try it again." He moved closer behind her, spreading his legs so he could get closer to her level, adjusting her arms to the right positions as she sighted.

"Can you stand like that?" asked Darla, as she glanced back at him.

Luke shrugged. "I suppose I could get down on one knee; I'd be closer to your height then," he said, and laughed as Darla tried to kick him in the shin. "Remember, left eye along the arrow," he said, and Darla turned her head again. "Shoulders back, keep this arm up."

Right then, Bo came around the corner of the barn. He'd decided now was as good a time as any to break for lunch, and came looking for Luke. He froze as he took in the scene before him. Darla was standing there, sighting on their target with his old bow he'd re-strung for her. His cousin stood with his body up against hers, his hands guiding her arms, and his lips close enough to breathe in her ear.

Bo felt his stomach drop. He felt a sudden urge of anger, and jealousy, and...something else, that feeling of unease that he couldn't quite put his finger on. It was bad enough to know a complete stranger had been flirting with her in Kentucky, trying to win her back. It was worse to see her in such a close conversation with Enos. Now, it was his own cousin who was closer to her than he'd like.

Darla let fly; her arrow arced across the yard and struck the target with a neat _thunk,_ quivering just shy of the bullseye. She shouted in surprise.

"See, you got it!" said Luke, letting go of her. "Just keep your arms up and keep sightin' with your left eye, and you'll get even better at it."

"I don't believe it!" said Darla. She smiled up at Luke. Bo's eyes widened in shock. That smile that lit up her face, was the one he thought she reserved only for him. But now it was directed at his cousin, who was smiling back.

She looked and saw Bo. "Bo, look at that!" she exclaimed. "I can do it now; I can sight well enough to hit the target!" Her smile was for him now, but he wasn't returning it.

"I thought we were workin'," Bo said harshly. "You're always runnin' off at the mouth about me takin' time out with her; now you're doin' it?" He spun on his heal and headed for the barn door. Darla's smile disappeared with him; Luke felt her flinch at Bo's words.

Luke frowned. "Stay here a minute," he said, and followed him. Bo was leaning against Netty's stall, his hands digging into the wood. Luke could see his jaw clenching. "You wanna tell me what that was all about?" growled Luke.

"You heard what I said!" Bo snapped , turning to look at him. "You're always givin' me grief about how I waste time with her, an' here _you_ are—"

"I have never said that bein' with Darla was wastin' time!" said Luke. "I said you needed to stop tryin' to sneak off with her when there's work that needs doin'!"

"So what were you doin' with her just now?"

"I was just helpin' her with her target practice! She was shootin' cross-eyed!" exclaimed Luke. _Geez, what's gotten into him?_

"Oh, so you just had to step in an' help, did ya?" Bo said sarcastically. "I'm the one that's been teachin' her, you know!"

"An' you shoulda caught that she was shootin' that way!" Luke fired back.

Bo pointed a finger at him. "I'm tellin' you right now, Luke—!" He broke off as he looked at the door. Luke looked too; Darla was standing there, watching the two of them. Her eyes were wide; her face was a mask of anger and hurt. She started at both of them for a minute, then she put down the bow and walked back out.

Bo felt his anger seep out of him like a deflated balloon. "Darla, wait a minute," he called after her. But as he got outside, he heard hoof beats pick up in the pasture. Darla had jumped on Netty's back and pushed her into a canter. She headed for the pasture fence, jumped it and was gone across the field.

Bo heaved a sigh, and climbed through the rails. Frisk was running along the fence line. He wasn't tall enough to jump it, and let out a panicked whinny as he watched his mother disappear. Bo caught him and put an arm around his neck.

Luke sighed and shook his head. He climbed through the pasture rails and watched Darla ride away. Bo was trying to control the frightened colt. "Dang it, Luke!" he shouted, and rounded on his cousin. "What'd you have to go and pick a fight for?"

"Me!" yelled Luke. "Bo, are you even listenin' to yourself? I took two minutes to help Darla, an' your actin' like I spent the entire afternoon playin' hooky with her! _What's gotten into you?_"

Bo shot him a furious look. He looked away again, at the direction Darla had gone. Luke saw a flash of pain across his face. He shook his head and slowly walked off, with Frisk following close behind. Luke watched him leave, frowning in disbelief. _What's got a burr under his saddle, anyway?_ Bo was quick to temper sometimes, but Luke had no idea where this outburst had come from.

Bo walked off with a heavy heart. He felt Frisk walking close beside him, taking comfort from the familiar human presence. He felt sick to his stomach with guilt. What _had_ gotten into him? Why had he flown off the handle like that? Why had it bothered him so much, to see Luke helping Darla? Well, he knew at least one answer to that. He remembered when Luke taught Martha Ann the basics of shooting; he knew how that evening had turned out. And Bo had done it with Jill Dodson, too. To see Luke doing the same thing with Darla, the woman he loved more than anything and was about to marry, just made him feel, well…jealous? Upset? Worried? No, none of the above, really; just…there it was again, that uneasiness right in the pit of his stomach. Why couldn't he figure that out? Why had he lashed out like that? The uneasiness was still there, lingering in the back of his mind. He still didn't know what it was, but he knew he didn't like the feeling.

* * *

><p>Luke started awake. He could hear a loud whistling sound, and for a second he panicked. But the whistling seemed muted, somehow. Then, like a slide whistle, the pitch dropped. It sound just like…like a tea kettle, he realized, and let out a sigh. Someone else was awake besides him. He swung his legs over the bed, rubbing his eyes. He looked over at Bo; he was turned toward the wall, but his breathing was deep and even. The clock said 1:30; who else would be up at this hour?<p>

It was no use; he'd woken up so suddenly, he'd never get back to sleep. He squinted and blinked as he entered the kitchen. Darla looked up at him; he saw her face fall slightly. "Oh, hi Luke," she said softly. "Sorry if I woke you."

"Nah, it wasn't you," said Luke, rubbing his eyes again.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. You were talking in your sleep," said Darla. She gestured with the kettle. "Want some?"

"Sure, why not," said Luke, and sat down at the table. He studied her back as she grabbed teabags and mugs from the cupboards. He thought she looked a little more than just tired. "I, um…I at least fell asleep," he said slowly. "You look like you haven't yet."

She didn't answer. As she sat down with two steaming mugs in her hands, he saw that her eyes were dry, but they looked red. "You an' Bo didn't talk, huh?" he guessed.

She shook her head a little and looked away. He saw her lips tremble just a little. "Ah, heck, Darla, I'm sorry," he said softly. _Dang it, Bo._ Once Darla had come back to the farm, she'd brought water out to the boys on the fence line, but Bo hadn't wanted to talk to her, and he'd been silent with Luke all afternoon. Dinner had also been quiet, and very awkward. Bo and Darla had both gone outside after dinner, but Luke never heard them talking. He still didn't understand what had gotten Bo riled up, but he knew better than to push him. And since Bo had ignored Darla all evening, she hadn't had the chance to push him.

Luke got up and went for the corner cabinet by the door, and reached for a dusty, brown glass bottle. "I think you need somethin' a little stronger than tea," he said. He poured a few drops into her mug. Darla raised her eyebrows. "I'm not a lightweight," she said.

"You are when it comes to moonshine; try it," said Luke. Darla sipped her mug; she could taste the bite of the alcohol, but it wasn't as harsh as she was expecting. Suddenly, her mouth was a lot warmer than it should have been. She blinked and cleared her throat; Luke nodded knowingly. She took another sip, and felt warmth start to seep through her chest and stomach. She sat back in her chair. "I don't understand, Luke," she said after a moment. "What happened? What did I do wrong?"

Luke sighed. "I dunno," he said. And he really didn't; he was just as confused about that as she was. Okay, maybe he'd been a little too harsh with Bo the last time he'd caught them making out in the barn, when Bo was supposed to be fixing the tractor. But there was no reason for Bo to be upset with Darla.

He leaned forward and put a hand over hers. "Listen, Bo's not the type to give anyone the silent treatment. In fact, he's not really silent about anything." They both smiled at that. "I dunno what's got a burr under Bo's saddle, but he'll come around, an' he'll talk to you about it. I know he loves you," he said, catching her eye. "You'll figure this out," he finished, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Darla smiled a little and looked down. "Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Sure," he said, looking at her as he leaned back in the chair.

Darla held his gaze. "Why was it you?"

Luke frowned. "Whaddya mean?"

"When you came after me, in Atlanta," said Darla. "Why was it you? I've been wondering that for a while. I can see Daisy coming after me; I can see you dragging Bo to Atlanta to talk to me. But you came alone. You're the type to just let things be, even if you don't agree with it. But you didn't. You were determined to set things right. And I think you would have stayed in that barn for as long as it took, to convince me to come back to Hazzard. Why?"

Luke thought for a minute. He'd asked himself that question on the way to Atlanta, and he'd asked it several times since then. It had been a snap decision in the middle of the night, to chase Darla down before she headed back to Kentucky after the Atlanta Stakes. He wasn't the type to follow an impulse like that. So why had he?

He sighed. "Y'know, I can't really explain it. I guess…because I knew you two were makin' a mistake," he finally said. "And…I just couldn't let you make it, either of you. I didn't want either of you to have that regret."

Darla studied his face for a minute. "You let someone go, didn't you?"

Luke shook his head with a grin. The Hazzard ladies were either going to love Darla or hate her; there wasn't much that escaped her notice. "Yeah, I did," he finally said.

Darla nodded. "What was her name?"

"Candy. Candy Dix."

Darla looked surprised. "The country singer?"

Luke looked surprised, then. "You know her?"

"Yeah, she sang at the Kentucky State Fair a few years ago. I thought she was pretty good," said Darla. Luke's eyes narrowed. "Okay, really good," said Darla, grinning. "So, you two were…?"

Luke nodded. "We met when I was in A-school in the Marines, out in California. She did a few shows for the troops, and we got to know each other. After a while, we were crazy about each other." He sighed. "I really, truly thought she was the one."

"So, what happened?"

"Her career was just starting to take off about then. Her manager wanted her to go on tour. An' I was getting ready to go overseas. I didn't know when I'd be comin' back; I didn't even know _if_ I'd be comin' back. I didn't want to put her through that. I thought about lookin' for her when I came home, but…well, I wasn't exactly ready for a relationship right after fightin' a war. It was…a while, before I really felt like myself again. An' once I did, I figured she'd moved on with her life. We ran into each other again when Bo an' I went out on the NASCAR circuit, she came through Hazzard once on tour, an' we still write, but that's pretty much it."

Darla nodded slowly. "How does she feel about you?"

Luke shrugged. "She still cares about me a lot; at least, I believe she does. But, she's kind of a tumbleweed. Bein' on tour with her music, that's what makes her happy. She's even less the type to settle down than I am."

Darla was quiet for a minute. "So, you've spent all this time telling yourself that it was for the best, when all the while you wondered what the best really could have been."

Luke winced a little at that. "Y'know, you really are too perceptive for your own good, sometimes," he said, and grinned a little as her cheeks flushed pink. "But yeah, somethin' like that."

Darla nodded again. "I know how that feels," she said.

"You got the second chance, though."

"Because of you," said Darla.

"Aw, you'd have come back eventually," said Luke. "Or I woulda gotten so tired of Bo, I'd have sent him after you."

Darla smirked at that. "Do you really think he would have? Come after me, I mean?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes, I do," said Luke with conviction. "Darla—I have known Bo his whole life. An' when it comes to girls, I have never, ever seen him act like he does with you. It's like other girls don't even exist to him anymore, 'cause he's got you. An' believe me, that's a first. He loves you more than anything, Darla. Whatever's goin' on, you'll work it out."

Luke reached for her hand and gently squeezed it again as he spoke. Darla took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, now I gotta ask you somethin', he said, hoping to distract her. "Just what were you talkin' to Enos about the other day, at the Boar's Nest?"

It worked; Darla laughed softly. "Do you know what _carpe diem_ means?"

Luke frowned. "It means _seize_ _the day_, doesn't it?" Suddenly his eyes lit up with understanding; he laughed softly. "Catfish," he said, chuckling. "Now I get it." He laughed harder. "Poor Enos," he said.

Darla laughed a little too; then she was suddenly trying to stifle a yawn. "Told ya you weren't used to that shine," said Luke, grinning at her. "Go on, get to sleep."

Darla nodded and got up. "I'm here because of you, you know," she said.

"Nah," said Luke. "You're here because you love him." Darla smiled and patted his shoulder as she passed him and headed out of the kitchen. After she left, Luke poured a few drops of 'shine into his own mug, drained it, and headed back to bed. Bo was still in the same position. Luke envied him; he'd seen Bo sleep through thunderstorms, ice storms, backfiring cars and practice runs at a NASCAR track. He lay back and closed his eyes; if he hadn't been so intent on relaxing enough to sleep, he might have noticed that the regular sound of Bo's breathing was missing.

Bo lay awake in the dark, not moving. He hadn't caught all of their conversation, but the last thing Darla said tore him apart. "I'm here because of you, you know." He hadn't heard Luke's response, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. _Who did she really come back here for?_

* * *

><p>The embers of the mens' campfire had faded to a red glow. "Get some sleep; we'll start lookin' again at first light," said one of them.<p>

"Aw, c'mon, Morty," said another. "We been lookin' for this cat for two days an' ain't seen a thing. Don'cha think we're on a wild goose chase, here?"

"I got a buyer with twenty thousand dollars in hand, that says we're chasin' a cat, an' not a goose," said Morty. "An' that's why we're gonna keep lookin'. Now get to sleep; tomorrow's gonna be a long day."

"You've had us out here for two days in the rain, chasin' an' old Indian legend," said a third man. "You better be right about this."


	6. Fire And Ice

There was no time for talking the next morning; the Dukes were rudely awakened by the fire department's alert tones over the CB. Daisy stumbled out to the kitchen to find Bo and Luke finishing yanking on their shirts and boots as the tones played again.

"…_repeat, a grass fire just off Pond Road at Clover Crossing, approaching Devil's Ridge. All Hazzard Fire Department Volunteers respond."_

"That's Jeremiah Wilson's place," said Bo. "Aren't his sheep out near Devil's Ridge?"

"We need to get out there quick; if the wind picks up it's gonna head straight across his property," said Luke. The highlands hadn't gotten the same rains as the rest of Hazzard, and the fields and pine forests were still dry.

"How're we gonna get out there? There's no way the General can cut across Jeremiah's pastures," said Bo.

"Take the rig!" Darla shouted. She tossed her keys at Bo as she ran through the kitchen. "I'll meet you there!" they heard her shout as she ran out the back door.

"Where the heck is she goin'?" said Bo. "Darla, get back here!" He wanted to follow her, but Luke urged him out the door toward Darla's dually truck. Bo fired it up and stomped on the gas; as they lumbered out of the yard, they saw a large pale shape come running out of the barn.

"Holy smoke, is she ridin' Texas Gold?" exclaimed Bo, looking in the rear view mirror.

"Gotta be," said Luke, looking across into Bo's mirror.

"What the heck is she doin'? Is she outta her mind?" said Bo.

"No, she's goin' to help herd the sheep," Luke guessed.

"What? She don't know the first thing about sheep herdin'!" yelled Bo.

"No, but Texas Gold does," said Luke.

Texas Gold had been a champion cutting and barrel-racing horse in his prime, until an injury forced his retirement from the rodeo circuit. He'd been sold to a cruel and neglectful owner, and had gone through several bad years before the man died and his farm was seized by creditors. His animals, including Texas Gold, went up for auction in Alabama, where the Duke's neighbor Eli Keller found him. The auction staff said the years of neglect had left the horse too fearful and stressed to be worth much, but Eli decided to take a chance on him anyway. Once he brought him back to Hazzard, he'd asked Darla for her help. Between the two of them, after several weeks, "Tex," as Darla had dubbed him, was starting to act more like his old self. He was proving to be "a challenging mount," as Darla put it, but he did respond to her. And now, he was flying across the pasture and jumping the south fence, with Darla on his back.

Bo's jaw clenched in frustration. He was still upset and uneasy after overhearing Luke and Darla the night before. But he didn't want Darla charging off into danger; how could he concentrate on the fire if he was worried about her?

Luke saw Bo's expression. Despite their argument the day before, he knew Bo was afraid for her. "Bo, she knows what she's doin'; she'll be fine," he said.

The boys caught up to the fire engines as they hit Clover Corner, and the ambulance fell in behind them as they climbed. They could see smoke hovering over the fields as they got closer to Jeremiah Wilson's farm. The smoke got thicker as they headed up the drive, where Mrs. Wilson waved them past the house. They bumped and bounced through the pasture, heading for Devil's Ridge. Eventually they saw shapes in the smoke take the form of other trucks.

"What've we got?" yelled Luke as they jumped out.

Josh Hagen, the fire truck driver, started tossing fire coats to everyone. "Farmer Wilson called it in; it started sometime early this mornin'. Right now it's huggin' the tree line on the west end of Devil's Ridge and heading this way. Good thing we've had some rain, or we'd have a big burn on our hands. There's a plane comin' to drop a load on it; in the meantime I want the water truck to take the tree line. The rest of you, grab the canisters and head for the edges to keep it from spreading toward the house."

They heard hoof beats behind them. Darla and Tex came running up. "Where's the herd?" Darla called.

"I dunno; just follow the noise," said Josh.

"Darla, wait!" yelled Bo, but Darla had already pushed Tex back into a run and was gone. Bo looked after her, then at the other volunteers, undecided. They needed help on the tree line, but he couldn't let Darla charge off alone.

"Bo, go with her," said Luke. His voice was quiet against the noise of the trucks, but it still carried. "Keep her safe, Bo; go," he said again, and took off for the tree line. Bo looked after him in worry and anger. After the previous night he was bursting with things to say, but now wasn't the time. He took off after Darla and Tex

Before long Darla could hear the bleating of a hundred panicked sheep. Through the thick smoke, she finally saw Jeremiah walking as fast as his old legs would allow, brandishing a stick to keep the herd together. His two border collies, June and Skip, were also doing their best to keep the stragglers from running.

"Jeremiah!" Darla yelled, as she brought Tex to a stop. "Where can we push them?"

"We need ta get 'em in the crush, but they won't go!" Jeremiah shouted, coughing and pointing. Darla followed his gaze and saw the problem. The large pen where they kept the sheep before shearing them was about a hundred feet away. But the fire was creeping toward the herd on one side, and the sheep wanted to run away from it, which was keeping them from the gate. June and Skip were running back and forth along one side of the herd, nipping at their heels, but all they did was pack the herd closer together; the sheep refused to get one step closer to the charred grass and brush.

"Darla!" Bo yelled, running up.

"Bo, we need to clear that!" Darla shouted over the noise, pointing.

Bo followed her gaze and realized what she meant. "All right, keep 'em here; I'll be back. But don't you go chargin' off into all this fire and smoke again, understand?"

He saw Darla flinch and instantly regretted how harsh he sounded, but there was no time to take it back. He ran back and whistled for the others. "Luke!" he shouted when he got close enough.

Luke turned toward him, his face gritty from flying cinders. "Where's Darla?"

"She's with Jeremiah, tryin' to keep the sheep together. They're tryin' to get 'em in the crush but the fire's too close!"

"All right, we'll get it," said Luke. "Cal!" he shouted, and waved to the water truck driver.

As they headed back across the field, they could hear another sound over the growling of the truck engines; the sound of a plane engine. The forest plane was on its way.

"Darla! Jeremiah! Bring 'em this way!" Luke shouted, waving them toward him. Jeremiah shouted orders to June and Skip; they immediately circled the herd and started pushing it away from the trees. The herd moved as one soot-covered mass, bleating in fright as the water truck came toward them. Darla gave Tex a free rein; the horse immediately threw himself into the fray, darting this way and that, keeping the herd from breaking apart. She was having a hard time keeping up with him; she knew how to ride a cutting horse, but it wasn't her specialty. In addition to that, her eyes were streaming, and she was coughing from all the smoke.

Bo, Luke and some others started spraying a path to the crush. As they started pushing the nervous herd toward it, they heard a loud cracking sound. One huge, old, dead tree had ignited, and was starting to lean. The bleating of the sheep got more agitated as the cracking grew louder.

In slow motion, they watched it fall. Clouds of smoke, steam and cinders billowed everywhere. The sheep panicked and scattered. Tex whinnied and reared, catching Darla off-guard. She made a grab for the saddle horn, but she was too late. Tex bolted and unseated her, and she crashed to the ground.

* * *

><p>"<em>Darla!"<em> Bo shouted. Darla lay unmoving. Tex ran past them as they took off after her. They hadn't gotten more than a dozen steps when they heard a loud roar from overhead; the forest plane was making its run. "Darla!" Bo shouted again, coughing. "Darla, stay down!"

"Darla!" Luke was shouting as well. He was closer; he threw himself over Darla as the plane raced over the field and dropped its load of chemical retardant. A loud hiss echoed through the trees as the fire died. For a second, the silence was deafening; it made his ears ring. The air was still thick and cloudy, but the remaining flames were gone. Luke raised his head; he was covered in a fine coating of red grit from the fire retardant, but the plane had mostly missed them.

"Darla?" he said, sitting up and reaching for her. She was gasping for breath, but every breath she took in was making her cough and retch. "You all right?" She raised her head and saw Luke looking at her with concern.

Bo came running through the smoke and found them. "Darla! Are you all right? Darla, baby, talk to me!" He was too worried to be angry as he knelt beside her. Darla tried to say she was okay, but as took another breath, the smoke choked her again, and all that came out was more coughing.

"Bo, take her to Harley at the ambulance and get her some oxygen," said Luke.

"I'm fine," Darla wheezed. "Where's that dumb horse? I'll teach him to run off without me." She coughed again; it felt like someone was sticking needles into her lungs.

"You're not fine! Now come on, let's get you checked out!" said Bo, helping her up.

"Really, Bo, I'm okay; I just the got wind knocked out of me," said Darla, still trying to catch her breath.

"Dang it, would you listen and not argue just this once?" Bo yelled at her. "I mean it, Darla, I'm about ready to put you over my knee for comin' up here, you had no business bein' in this fire!" This was too much; he was still angry with her, and hurt by the both of them, for their conversation the previous night. But having her in the thick of the fire scared him to death; she could have been seriously hurt if Tex had run into the flames.

Darla was ready to yell back at him, but Luke stopped her. "Bo's right," he said, his voice roughened from the smoke. He was angry with her too, but getting her out of this smoke was more important than lecturing her. His blue eyes looked straight into her hazel ones. "You don't belong here, hon. Now go with him."

Darla opened her mouth to argue, but all that came out was another cough. She looked about to say something else; then she threw up her hands in frustration and stomped off.

"Hey! Don't you walk away from me like that!" Bo yelled. He started to go after her, but Luke stopped him.

"Hang on, I'll get her," he said. "She's just as riled as you are now."

"Luke, I can handle her just fine!" Bo snapped.

"Yeah, you've handled her real well so far, haven't ya?" Luke retorted._ I am NOT playin' referee once they're married,_ he thought to himself. He strode after her, but in the thick smoke, he didn't realize she'd stopped, and he almost ran over her. Darla was frozen in place, staring in horror.

In front of them were two dead sheep. When the tree fell, the herd scattered, and a few of them ran straight into the flames. Most of their wool was burned away, along with large patches of skin. Luke wrinkled his nose at the smell of burned flesh.

The smell overwhelmed Darla. Suddenly she was no longer in a scrubby field surrounded by cliffs and trees. She was standing in a large expanse of green, staring at what had been a red barn. All that was left was a mass of twisted, blackened timbers. The fire department had been pouring water on it for hours, but it didn't take away the smell—that bitter, choking smell of charred flesh and hair. That smell was the last memory she had of several horses, her father, her mother, and her brother.

"Darla? Darla, hey!" Luke's voice seemed to come from far away; there was another sound, closer, that was drowning him out. She felt hands on her face. "Darla, please, look at me!"

Darla snapped back to reality and looked up at him. He looked blurry; she blinked and felt tears on her face. Then she realized the noise was coming from her; she was crying. She tried to take another breath, but the smell overwhelmed her again, and she felt her stomach turn over.

"Take it easy, hon," said Luke, trying to steady her. "Bo, get over here!" he shouted.

Bo was still ready to spit nails at the both of them, but he caught the urgency in Luke's voice. He walked toward their voices, and found Luke supporting Darla, who was violently sick.

"What's wrong?" Bo asked. Then he saw the dead sheep and caught the smell, and knew instantly what had happened. He didn't hesitate; he scooped her up in his arms and headed for the ambulance. He momentarily forgot his anger as he felt her shaking. "Easy, darlin', it's okay," he murmured to her.

Darla was aware of Bo holding her and voices around her, but she was trying too hard to keep her stomach from turning over again to pay attention. She felt Bo sit her down on something. Someone tried to put a mask on her face, but she caught another whiff of smoke and smelled burned wool, and felt her stomach lurch. She shook her head and hunched over again. "Take it easy, Darla; get it outta your system," she heard someone say.

When she'd finally lost everything, she looked up and saw Harley, the ambulance driver, looking at her, holding the mask back out. She took it and held it to her face, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. She felt an arm around her, and realized Bo was still next to her. He reeked of smoke and sweat, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around him. Bo pulled her into his arms and let his cheek rest on her hair. Luke smiled a little as he saw the two of them in a tight embrace.

He looked at the smoking field, and saw that Enos, Rosco and Cooter had arrived. The lawmen were looking at something at the far edge of the field; Cooter was approaching him, with Tex in tow. "Oh, there he is," he said.

"Yeah, he was ready to take off for home, but I caught 'im," said Cooter with a grin. He looked at Bo and Darla. "How's she doin'?"

"She'll be all right; the smoke got to her," said Luke, taking Tex's reins as Enos and Rosco walked up. Both of them looked uncharacteristically serious. "What's up, Enos?" asked Cooter, catching their look.

In answer, Enos held up something in a plastic bag. Luke and Cooter squinted at it; it was a tiny piece of what looked like cardboard. Luke thought he could make out something written on it. "It looks like—like—" Suddenly his eyes widened as the letters on it snapped into focus. "Boar's Nest," he said, looking up at Enos. "Is that-?"

"What's up, y'all? Did ya find somethin'?" asked Bo, walking up.

"This was a matchbox from the Boar's Nest," said Enos. "An' over there we found where someone dug a pit for a fire."

All of them looked serious. "This was no accident. Somebody set this," said Cooter.

"Either they set it on purpose, or they built a fire an' didn't bother to snuff it out," said Rosco.

"Wonder if the same folks that killed Jeremiah's sheep left this fire to burn," said Luke. He shook his head. "What're we dealin' with, here?"

* * *

><p>Bo, Luke and Darla were all tired and filthy when they got back to the farm. There were still chores to do, which made them feel even more exhausted. Darla checked Texas Gold over, and found a few patches of burned skin and hair on his pale coat. As she started applying ointment to his skin, her hands started shaking. She squeezed her eyes shut. <em>Stay here,<em> she told herself firmly. She opened her eyes and forced herself to look around the barn. _You're here. Not there._

"Darla?" She looked and saw Luke watching her, and realized there were tears in her eyes again. She quickly wiped them away. "There was a lot of smoke out there," she said quickly, sniffling. Her eyes really were smarting from the smoke, and she felt like there were still clouds of it in her lungs to cough out, but that wasn't the only thing making her eyes tear up and putting a lump in her throat.

Luke set down the bale he was holding and put an arm around her. "I'm sorry," she choked.

"Nah, don't be," said Luke, looking down at her.

"It's just—when I saw all that, I just—"

"You felt like you were right back there again," Luke finished for her. He smiled sadly as she looked up at him. "Right after I came home from Vietnam, I really wasn't myself. I'd be okay most of the time, but sometimes—I'd hear a sound, a voice, and sometimes I'd smell somethin'—and I'd be right back there in that jungle, like no time had passed at all. One night a 'coon got into the chicken coop. The way I reacted, you'da thought the VC was ready to come chargin' over that hill."

Darla let out a shaky laugh at that. "Things got a better after a while," he said. "But I came home in the fall; the next year at the Fourth of July, the fireworks caught me by surprise. When they started goin' off, I hit the deck."

Darla sighed and patted Tex's neck. "How did you do it?" she asked.

Luke knew what she meant. "Well, I wrote to my Marine buddies a lot, especially Robert," he said. "Robert Fulton was my platoon sergeant over there; we came home at the same time. He was by best friend. He asked me, at the train station, if he could write to me. He lost his wife and son to a drunk driver while we were over there, so he didn't have any family waiting for him. We wrote at least once or twice a week that first year, and we still kept in touch for years after that. Robert understood what I was goin' through, in a way my own family couldn't. But he reminded me that I had a family I could turn to, and to let them look after me. After a while, it started to get better for us both."

Darla had a faraway look in her eyes as she listened. "Does it ever go away?" she whispered.

Luke's heart went out to her. He'd asked Uncle Jesse that exact same question, after they'd come home from Robert's funeral. He remembered what his uncle said to him. "It gets better, Darla; it gets a lot better," he finally said. "You learn to deal with it the best way you know how. An' one day you'll realize, that you haven't thought about it at all in a really long time. I guess that's when you know you've moved past it, and it doesn't rule you anymore. It never really goes away, not completely. But it fades, Darla. It really does. Trust me."

She nodded wordlessly. Suddenly she was overtaken by another coughing fit. Needle-sharp pains rippled through her chest as she coughed and hacked. "I must've brought a lot of smoke back with me," she wheezed.

"Yeah, that reminds me," he said, and looked down at her. "Don't you ever go runnin' into a fire like that again, understand?" His voice was soft, but stern. "You don't know how grass fires can move, and even you said you're havin' a hard time with Tex. He's the last horse you should have ridden up there. Bo had every right to be mad at you; you dang near scared him to death. You scared me too. What were you thinkin'?"

Darla looked up at him defiantly. "I have sort of a thing for saving animals from a fire, Luke; I'm sure you can understand that," she said harshly.

Luke's eyes narrowed a bit. "That don't mean you need to get yourself hurt in the process, Darla," he said. "And you could have been. What do you think that woulda done to Bo? I know he ain't been himself, but if anything ever happened to you…" He didn't finish.

Darla continued to glare at him, but there was guilt in her expression, too. "I guess it wasn't one of my smartest decisions," she admitted.

"No, it wasn't," Luke grinned, and put an arm around her. "Listen, any time you wanna talk about…well, about anything, I'm here, okay?" said Luke.

"Thanks, Luke," she said quietly.

Just as they let go, Bo came back to the barn. He could tell, by their stances, that they'd just been embracing. And Luke still had an arm around her. He felt another jolt of anger and jealousy slash through him, combined with that same feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It was almost starting to annoy him.

Bo felt his jaw clench as he looked at them. Once again, he'd stumbled on to Luke standing too close to his girl. The anger built in his chest as he strode toward them.

"What's goin' on here?" he demanded.

They both turned as Bo walked up to them. Darla started to say something, but bit it off as Bo shoved Luke back. "Hey!" Luke shouted. "Whaddya think you're doin!"

"Whaddya think _you're_ doin'?"

"Stop it!" Darla yelled, getting between them. "What is going on, what is the matter with you!"

Bo looked over her head at Luke, who was staring at him in disbelief. "What were you doin' with him?" he demanded, looking at her.

"Nothing!" they both exclaimed, looking at each other. "We were—well…" Darla began, "Luke was telling me how stupid it was to take Tex up the mountain this morning," she admitted reluctantly. She didn't want to mention the rest of it.

"I coulda told you that!" Bo snapped.

"Well, you've been acting like a horse's ass to me the last two days, so I might not have listened!" Darla yelled back. "Or did you think you'd get the point across by _yelling louder_?"

"Maybe I would if I thought it'd get through your head!"

"All right, that's enough," said Luke, stepping between them. He glared at Bo. "I dunno what you're problem is, cuz, but you got no call to take it out on her!"

"What's goin' on here?" A gruff voice said behind them. Uncle Jesse was standing there, watching the three of them. Bo and Luke didn't take their eyes off each other, but they held their tongues as their uncle walked up.

Jesse had heard enough of their argument to know what was going on. "Darla, Daisy's been wonderin' where ya are, she could use some help in the house," he said. Darla frowned in confusion, until she saw Jesse nod in the direction of the house. She threw Bo a venom-filled look as she left.

Jesse frowned at the boys. "Someone wanna tell me what this is about?"

"I dunno, Uncle Jesse, ask him," said Luke, throwing Bo a disgusted look. He hefted the hay bale again and walked off. Bo wanted to shout after him, but caught Jesse's look and bit it back. Jesse was frowning at him in concern, but as he looked at his youngest nephew, he almost had to smile. He'd seen that look on Bo's face so many times before; that mixture of defiance, guilt and sulky anger. Most of the time the reasons for his anger were plain as day, but not this time.

"Bo, ya got no call to yell at yer cousin like that, an' ya got no reason to yell at yer bride-to-be, either," said Jesse. "Now what in the heck is eatin' at ya?"

Bo put his hands on his hips and tried to gather his thoughts. The truth was, he had so many things spinning around in his head, he had no idea where to start thinking about them. He was still mad at Darla for letting Luke help her with her archery, although he really had no idea why. He wanted to demand an explanation for her late-night talk with Luke, but at the same time, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. And taking Tex into that brush fire was just plain stupid. She should have known better…and he should have stopped her from going. And he still felt like he had a score to settle with Luke, but he wasn't even sure why any more.

That feeling of uneasiness was practically making him feel queasy. "Uncle Jesse, I…" He couldn't form the words. It was almost like saying them would make everything worse than it was.

Jesse's expression softened. "All right, Bo," he said. "I understand if ya need ta calm yerself. But ya cain't hold it in for long." He put a hand on Bo's shoulder. "I'll be here when ya change yer mind."

Bo felt a stab of guilt as his uncle headed back toward the house. He could see Darla and Daisy talking on the porch. Daisy had an arm around her. He knew Daisy would probably be mad at him now; Luke already was…how did things manage to get so messed up?

Two months ago, he felt like he had the world on a string. Now it felt like his entire world was hanging by a thread, swaying in the breeze.

_**Many thanks to GrayWolf84 for letting me borrow her character, Robert Fulton. "Soldier" and "When it Rains, it Pours" is some of the best fan fic I've read out here.**_


	7. Holding Back

_**A/N: Wow. I can't believe it's been this long since I've updated. It's been really hard to write because I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it. I've pulled a couple of near all-nighters to get going again. Well, let's jump back in, shall we?**_

As the sun disappeared behind the hills, Bo found himself leaning against the pasture fence, watching Frisk run and jump across the field, while the other horses grazed. At three months, he was rapidly losing his baby look. While he still looked like he had stilts for legs, his body was rapidly filling out with muscle. He'd grown like a weed; he was already approaching the same size as Maudine, their elderly mule. He was running up to her now, prancing to a stop, then running away again, trying to get her to chase him. Maudine had become a reluctant nursemaid, enduring Frisk's constant attempts to get her to play with him, and giving him an occasional nip when she wasn't in the mood. Frisk was more reserved around Tex; the big palomino didn't mind playing with him, but wouldn't hesitate to remind the little upstart who was boss if it was needed.

Bo heard soft footfalls behind him, and rested his chin on his arms as Daisy appeared beside him. "I saved you some dinner," she said quietly.

"Thanks, Daisy," said Bo, still watching the pasture. He wondered what else she had to say to him. Luke had gone to finish the south fence by himself that afternoon; Bo knew it was to avoid him. Darla hadn't come to find him either. Uncle Jesse had tried talking to him again after his blow-up with Luke. He tried to put words to what was bothering him, but he knew he hadn't made much sense. Now Daisy was here with him; he wondered if he had another lecture coming.

Daisy looked at him in the dying light. He looked wrung out. It touched her tender heart. She'd gotten what had happened that morning, and that afternoon, out of Luke, Darla and Uncle Jesse, but when Bo wouldn't come in for dinner despite Uncle Jesse going out to get him, she got worried. Bo really wasn't acting himself. It wasn't like him to hold everything in this way. And while Bo and Luke might get after each other occasionally, Bo wouldn't pick a fight without good reason. She figured Bo had one; they just didn't know what it was.

"Bo, do you remember when you an' Luke went undercover for the FBI, an' drove for that gangster's daughter?" she asked.

Bo looked at her in surprise; that wasn't the question he'd been expecting. "Sure I do," he said.

Daisy looked across the field, smiling as Frisk kicked his heels in the air. "I was so mad at you," she said softly. "I was mad about you lyin' about takin' the job, for goin' back on your word to me an' Uncle Jesse, for not bein' there for your kin…Lord, I hated both of you for those few days."

"Yeah, I remember," said Bo. "I think my ears still ring sometimes from that slap you landed on me."

Daisy laughed a little. "Well, in my mind, you deserved it," she said. "But I was wrong, Bo. I just didn't understand. An' once I did, well…I felt really stupid. I shoulda known it was for somethin' like that; I shoulda known you wouldn't have left for selfish reasons, especially right before Uncle Jesse's birthday. An' I felt really bad for doubting you."

"Daisy, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know," said Bo.

"That's my point," said Daisy. "You knew why I was mad, an' I know you woulda done anything to make it right, if you could have." She looked up at him. "But Darla doesn't know what's wrong, Bo; none of us do. We have to know what's wrong before we can make it right. We can't help you if you don't tell us what's eatin' you. Now you've been sulkin' and skulkin' for days. What's wrong?"

Bo heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, Daisy. Everything just seems so mixed up." He was mixed up, that was true, but he was also stewing about what he'd seen that afternoon. He knew why it bothered him, but he didn't want to admit it; he didn't even want to think about it, much less talk about it.

He looked at her; she saw the pain in his eyes, and she put her arms around him. She felt him sigh again as he hugged her. "Do you love Darla?" she asked.

Bo nodded. "With all my heart, I do," he said.

"And she loves you. That's somethin', ain't it?" said Daisy, smiling a little. "Now c'mon, before your dinner gets any colder," she said. She took his hand and started leading him back to the house. Maybe he'd feel more like talking after pork chops and stuffing.

* * *

><p>Bo slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning. He couldn't settle his mind. He knew Daisy was right, and yet the bits of the conversation he'd heard between Luke and Darla the night before, seeing them standing so close with Luke's arm around her in the barn that day, kept playing over and over in his mind. Now that he wasn't doing anything, he couldn't stop thinking about it. They'd said they weren't doing anything, but that wasn't what it looked like to him. Didn't he have any right to be mad about it? He could have told Darla how hare-brained it was to take Tex into that grass fire; why would she listen to Luke but not him? And why, when he tried to talk to either of them, did his words either come out wrong or not come out at all?<p>

_Well, you weren't exactly calm and collected when you talked to her this afternoon, were you? All you did was shout—no wonder she wasn't listening to you._

The thoughts came unbidden into his mind. He groaned in exasperation and turned over, throwing the pillow over his head. Even when he was chastising himself, it still sounded like Luke talking.

He could hear Luke's breathing, slow and regular. He sat up and ran his hand through his hair, got up and walked out to the kitchen. The house was dark and quiet. He thought tonight would qualify for 'medicinal purposes,' and reached for the dusty brown bottle he knew was in the cabinet. But as he did, he thought he heard something else; a soft _thud _coming from somewhere in the house. He frowned and walked into the living room. No one was there, but a soft light was coming from the guest bedroom, which Darla now occupied. He hesitated; then he walked slowly to the door, pushing it open.

Darla was asleep, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed, the other flung over her face, shielding her eyes from the light of the bedside lamp. The saints' bracelet he'd given her glimmered faintly on her wrist in the dim light. Her hair was in a loose braid; a few strands lay in auburn ribbons on her pillow. A small book lay on the floor beside her bed. Bo bent to pick it up, and realized it was a small scrapbook. It looked like she'd decorated it herself; the cover had been drawn and doodled on quite a bit. In the middle she'd painted the words _Best Days Ever_. She'd shown him a few photos of her home and family, but he hadn't seen this. He started to open it; then hesitated and looked back at Darla. Her breathing was still slow and regular, her arm still flung over her eyes. _It's not like I'm reading her diary,_ he rationalized, and flipped it open.

The first pictures looked fairly old. He smiled at a picture of Darla as a little girl, maybe six or seven, with a smile a mile wide on the back of a dapple-gray pony. The caption said _Jingles!_ Another was of Darla on the same pony, maybe a few years older, wearing a riding habit and holding a large blue and silver ribbon.

A few pages later, he saw Darla in a long white dress with a dark-haired boy. He recognized him immediately. "Jonas," he whispered. At first he thought it was a debutante photo, but she seemed awfully young. Then he saw the altar behind them, and realized she was in a church. _Communion #1_ was written under it. In the next, she was smiling with the same dark-haired boy, who was wearing a cap and gown. Underneath it, she'd written, '_He actually made it, WOW!_'

Darla stirred a little. Bo quickly closed the book, but she only turned away from the light. He flipped back to the picture of Jonas and Darla. Jonas was easily a head taller than his sister, but still shorter than Luke was, with darker skin and dark, wavy hair. Compared with Darla, he was a much heavier build, although he was still slender. His face was rounder than hers, and his cheekbones lacked the delicacy that she had, but they had the exact same smile in addition to the dark hazel eyes. He flipped through the next several pages; there were a few photos of Darla, or both of them, with their parents, but the majority were of just the two of them. With a pang, he realized just how close the siblings must have been.

"_In some ways, he drove me crazy,"_ Darla had once told him. _"It was like having another father sometimes, he was so protective of me. But even when he was trying to reprimand me, he would suddenly laugh and throw his arms around me and say, 'It's only because I love you, little sister. I want only for you to be happy.'"_

_He sounds a lot like Luke,_ Bo thought to himself. He saw another photo of Darla on a tall bay horse, holding a blue ribbon and a silver plate. Then there were several photos of her in formal white gowns and elaborate hairstyles. The captions underneath all described the debutantes' balls she was introduced at. Then he saw her in a cap and gown, standing with Jonas. The next pages were of Darla wearing jockey silks and sitting on Treasure's back, with her parents and Jonas all smiling. _Win at Sanford!_ said the first caption. He remembered Darla saying that was her first win as a jockey, and Treasure's first win as well. There were also newspaper clippings about the races—the Hopeful Stakes, the Breeder's Cup Juvenile, the Wood Memorial and the Bluegrass Stakes.

The last article showed Darla with Treasure, and the headline, _'Can a woman take the "Treasured" Derby?'_ It talked about Darla and Treasure, and their odds of winning the Kentucky Derby. Darla would be only the third woman in history to make a Derby run, and no woman jockey had done better than 11th. Bo realized the article was talking about a race that Darla and Treasure would never run. It would only be a few weeks later that a fire would claim the lives of her family.

The last photo was of Darla and Jonas, but they weren't looking at the camera; it looked like they were talking. There were a few other people behind them; he wondered who they were. There was nothing written by this picture; the page was blank except for the photo. It was dark, and a little blurry. He wondered why she'd put this in her scrapbook, when everything else seemed to be about the happiest days she remembered. Suddenly, with a jolt, he understood. This must have been the very last photo she had with Jonas before he died.

He looked back at Darla's sleeping form, and swallowed hard. He knew Darla had been close to her brother, but he didn't realize just how close they really were. Even when he was mad at Luke, he knew how empty his life would be if his cousin, who was like his big brother in so many ways, was gone.

He sat on the bed next to her, and heard her sigh as his lips brushed her cheek. He turned out the light and started to leave.

"Stay."

He looked back at her. She was just barely visible in the soft darkness. She hadn't moved, but he heard her whisper. "Stay. Please." He felt her hand touch his.

Bo let out a shaky sigh. After the last few days, that was the last thing he expected to hear her say. As Darla rolled over, Bo crawled under the covers behind her. He wrapped an arm around her and puller her closer, conforming his body to hers as much as possible. Darla sighed at the feel of his arms around her. His lips brushed against her neck. She turned her head and kissed him gently, and he felt her fingertips brush his cheek. He felt the saints' bracelet on her wrist brush against him. His arms tightened around her as she curled up next to him.

"Darla..." he murmured.

"Shhh, sleep now; talk later," she whispered. Bo started to object, but he could feel her body relax almost immediately, and he knew she was already falling back to sleep. He tried to keep his mind alert, even as his body stilled. It wouldn't do at all for Uncle Jesse to catch him in here; he'd never stand for it. He breathed in deeply, catching the fragrance of her hair, and tried to take some comfort from her closeness. The steady rhythm of her breathing relaxed him, and soon he was dozing next to her.

* * *

><p><em>The black shape moved like a wraith through the brush. In a night full of shadows, this shadow was darker still. It could hear the loud footfalls, the heavy breathing of its pursuer. It moved deeper into the brush thickets, looking for cover.<em>

* * *

><p>Darla awoke late the next morning. She could hear everyone talking in the kitchen. She sat up, and almost immediately was overtaken by a fit of coughing. The pain in her chest from the smoke the day before returned quickly. She groaned and rubbed her eyes; the cough had kept her up for part of the night as well. As she dressed, she made a mental note to raid the medicine cabinet for cough drops before she got to work that morning.<p>

She wondered when Bo returned to his bed, and if he'd slept any better than she did. She smiled a little to herself; she had no idea what had prompted Bo to come into her room, but it had been wonderful to curl up with him. Thank goodness he didn't snore. She decided that, before this day was over, she was going to get to the bottom of whatever was eating at him. She hated the distance it was putting between them.

She headed for the kitchen and found Daisy getting ready to dish out grits, and the boys and Jesse sitting at the table with their coffee. Darla took it as a good sign that Bo and Luke were sitting next to each other, even if they were more or less ignoring each other.

"Morning, everyone," she said, giving Bo a kiss on the cheek and smiled at the others. She saw a longing in Bo's eyes as he looked back at her; she wondered what was on his mind.

As she poured coffee for herself, she heard Cooter's voice on the CB. "Breaker one, breaker one, might be crazy but I aint' dumb, Craaaaaazy Cooter comin' atcha, lookin' for any Dukes on the Hazzard Net, come on," he said.

Darla reached for the mic. "Well, I can get you a future Duke, Crazy C, this is Little Lamb," she said, winking at Bo.

"Hey, mornin' Darla! I'm on my way back from a job, thought I'd come on by an' finally take a look at that wreck o' yours!"

"Well, come on by then; get here quick and there might be breakfast in it for you!" said Darla.

"That's a big ten-four, my foot's to the floor, I'm gone!" said Cooter.

"I've never known that man to pass up a meal," said Luke.

"Ya think he'll be disappointed when he finds out it's grits an' molasses?" said Bo. He and Luke looked at each other briefly. "Nah," they said, and they both grinned.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the boys and Darla were pushing the Firebird into an alcove in Cooter's garage. As Darla had predicted, Cooter was just as excited about the engine in the car as Bo and Luke were.<p>

"Lord have mercy, look at this!" Cooter exclaimed after they popped the hood.

"Yeah, it's a thing of beauty, ain't it?" said Bo. Even he couldn't help but be enthusiastic about Darla's car.

"Not yet, but it will be," Cooter replied. Bo and Luke could tell by his expression that his mind was already racing at the possibilities this engine could have.

"Well, what do you think, Cooter? Can we salvage it?" asked Darla.

"Well, we'll lift it outta here an' start strippin' it down, see what we got to work with, but if the block and the tranny are good, then I'd say you're gonna have one heckuva racin' machine once we're done with it," said Cooter.

"Even better than the General?" asked Darla with a sly grin at the boys.

"Now, Darla, don't ask me that; I ain't about to start no family feud!" said Cooter, laughing at the three of them. As Cooter showed Darla how to attach the lifting chains to the engine, Bo and Luke started pulling the tools they'd need. Bo stole a glance at Darla. "You think she could do it? Beat the General, I mean?" he asked quietly.

Luke shrugged. He still wasn't inclined to talk to Bo after the attitude he'd had lately, but at least his cousin was being civil today. He could do the same. "I dunno," he said honestly. "The car's only as good as the driver, which is why the General is the best there is." Bo smiled a little at that. "But, Darla's a darn good driver; she was before we met her," Luke continued. "An' she's gotten better since she's been drivin' with you. You put her in a car like this…" Luke suddenly shrugged again. "Well, it's not like you're gonna have to work that hard to catch her, is it?" he said, and laughed as Bo mock-punched him in the shoulder.

Once they had the engine disconnected from everything, Cooter disappeared underneath to start checking the transmission, while Bo and Luke lifted the engine out to blocks and quickly started taking it apart. Luke handed Darla a can of grease solvent and showed her how to start cleaning the parts as they arranged them in a row around the edge of the garage. While Luke worked on taking the heads off, Bo started going through the many parts on the floor, inspecting them and throwing away a few that weren't worth salvaging. He grabbed a few more and headed outside. After getting light-headed from the solvent fumes, Darla had decided to work out front in the open air. He could hear her singing to herself as he approached. He paused out of her sight to listen to her.

_If these old walls  
>If these old walls could speak<br>Of things that they remember well  
>Stories and faces dearly held<br>A couple in love livin' week to week  
>Rooms full of laughter<br>If these walls could speak_

_If these old halls  
>If hallowed halls could talk<br>They would have a tale to tell  
>Of sun going down and dinner bell<br>And children playing at hide and seek  
>From floor to rafter<br>If these walls could speak_

_They would tell you that I'm sorry  
>For bein' cold and blind and weak<br>They would tell you that it's only  
>That I have a stubborn streak<em>

_If these walls could speak_

Her voice was low-pitched and somewhat throaty. Although she insisted she had a terrible voice, Bo loved to hear her sing. He smiled softly at the words. Darla looked up then, and saw Bo out of the corner of her eye, watching her. She smiled a little; she would have gone on, but she started to cough again. Bo's smile changed to a frown of concern; it sounded like that "chesty" cough he used to get as a kid. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Darla rasped, "But this dang cough is getting on my nerves." She glanced up at him and smiled again, but her eyes were guarded. He sat down next to her, but she quickly got up. "Where're you goin'?" he said, feeling a stab of hurt.

She shook the can of solvent in answer. "This is almost gone," she said. "I'll grab some more."

"If you go up the ladder, there should be some more in Cooter's back storage," said Bo. Darla nodded and headed back inside, picking her way around Cooter, Luke, and various engine parts, to the ladder in the back and quickly started to climb it.

Suddenly, things started happening very fast.

Cooter's eyes widened; he spun around. "Darla, wait—stop!" he shouted. But it was too late. One of the top rungs in the ladder was completely loose in its socket and would spin if you stepped on it. Bo and Luke both knew to avoid it, but Darla didn't. Luke and Cooter heard her gasp in shock as the rung spun and her feet flew off the ladder. She managed to grab hold with one hand, but the sudden jerk of her weight made the ladder lurch. It hit an oily patch on the floor and started to slide. Darla frantically tried to grab the ledge, but she couldn't reach it; the ladder started to fall, and Darla screamed as she fell with it.

* * *

><p>Darla felt the wind rush out of her as she hit; it dimly registered in her mind that the landing really should have hurt more. "Are you all right?" she heard someone say. She opened her eyes and realized Luke was holding her. Somehow he'd managed to catch her before she hit the ground.<p>

"Gosh I'm sorry Darla, I shoulda thought to warn ya 'fore ya went up there!" said Cooter.

"Are you all right?" Luke asked again, setting her down. Darla nodded; her knees were wobbling from the adrenaline. Luke turned her to look at him and took her face in his hands. He shook his head and smiled a little. "Would you stop tryin' to find ways to hurt yourself, please?"

Darla let out a shaky laugh. Luke could feel her trembling and held her closer, trying to calm her down. He felt his pulse race when he looked up and saw her desperately clinging to the sliding ladder, trying to reach for the ledge. When she fell, he didn't think; he just reacted. Never taking his eyes off her, he threw himself underneath her and snatched her out of the air before she hit the floor. He breathed a sigh of relief that she was all right; at the least, she'd avoided some very painful bruises.

Darla clutched at him for a moment as her fear dissipated. She'd lost track of how many times she'd fallen from a horse in her lifetime; it was part of her job description. She'd had more than a few rough landings, but she usually got right back up again, none the worse for wear. But to her, there was nothing worse than that one instant, that awful feeling of weightlessness, of knowing you were at gravity's mercy; then the complete helplessness as you plummeted to the ground, knowing the sudden stop at the end of the fall was probably going to hurt like hell. Falling off a ladder didn't seem any different.

She willed herself to breathe slower. Luke looked down at her again. "You sure you're okay? You're not hurt?"

"No, I'm okay, thanks to you," said Darla. Luke was about to let her go, when he felt her stiffen. He followed her gaze and saw Bo watching them. "She's okay, Bo," he said, stepping back.

Bo didn't move. Luke frowned at the look on his cousin's face. He didn't look worried; he looked downright furious. "Bo, relax, she's fine," said Luke. But Bo's expression didn't change.

Darla stared at him. She'd never seen him look like that before. The fury in his gaze was almost palpable; it made her cringe. She had no idea what to make of him. What on earth could be that wrong?

"Bo—" Luke began, but Bo turned around and strode toward the General Lee. He threw himself through the driver's window, turned the key and hit the gas almost in the same motion. "Bo!" Luke shouted, but Bo took off with a squeal of tires and smoke. They ran to the garage door as Bo turned the corner and flew out of sight.

For a moment they just stared after him. "What the heck's gotten into him?" Cooter finally asked.

"I don't know," said Luke, scowling after him. _But I WILL find out,_ he thought. He looked at Darla. She was standing with her arms tightly crossed across her chest, blankly staring in the direction Bo had gone. Her eyes looked glassy. Luke put an arm around her again. "Cooter, can we borrow your truck so I can get Darla home? The Firebird can wait for a while," he said.

"I'll drive ya," Cooter replied quietly.


	8. Blowout

Two men tramped through the trees, staring at the ground. "Looky here, there's his tracks again," said one of them.

"He's headed back toward the ridge. Ya think Morty will find us? We've covered a lotta ground," said the other.

"He'll know where ta go when the shootin' starts," said the first.

* * *

><p>Bo's knuckles were turning white on the General's steering wheel as he drifted down the dirt roads toward the farm. He kept his foot jammed on the accelerator, letting his fury drive him. His jaw was starting to ache from clenching it so hard, but he ignored it. He pulled up the drive and killed the General's engine. He pulled himself out and stormed toward the far side of the barn, his hands clenched into fists.<p>

Daisy was taking wash off the line when she heard the General pull up to the house. She frowned when she saw only Bo in the car. "Bo?" she called out to him. Her eyes widened when she saw the look on his face. "Bo, what's wrong?" she asked. Bo ignored her. "Bo, wait!" Daisy said, running after him. "Bo, what's the matter? Bo, wait, please!" she called after him.

Jesse came out of the house in time to see Bo disappear around the barn. "What's wrong?"

"It's Bo! He just came back by himself; he looks really mad but he won't say anything!" said Daisy.

"Bo? Bo!" Jesse tried huffing after him. "Bo, come back here!" But Bo ignored his uncle. Tex and Netty looked up from their grazing and watched him as he climbed through the fence rails and stormed through the pasture toward the far side. Frisk trotted toward him but stopped, sensing the man was not there to play with him. He leaned against the rails, his nails digging into the wood, trying not to scream in anger and frustration.

_It's not true, it couldn't be_. And yet, some part of him said that it was.

He kept seeing the scene over and over in his mind. As soon as he heard Darla's gasp, he knew what had happened. He jumped up, berating himself for not warning her, and ran for the garage. But he stopped short at what he saw. Luke was holding Darla's face gently in his hands. The way he looked at her made Bo blanch with shock. Wasn't that the way _he_ looked at her? Darla then threw her arms around him. Bo could see her shaking and knew she was spooked from the fall, but it wasn't him she was looking to for comfort.

It was Luke.

It was _always_ Luke.

_Stop it, that's not true,_a part of him said. But the rest of him didn't want to listen. He'd been telling himself these past few days that he was imagining things. But was he?

What if...

He thought back to summer, when Darla walked through the door of the Boar's Nest and back into his life. Sure, she'd come back, but who had brought her? Who had she talked to, who had she confided in, who had she looked up to, since she'd returned?

Luke.

_What if she hadn't really come back for him? _

A small part of him was trying to stay logical, but he was too angry to listen to it. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the images that were flooding his mind. He didn't want to believe it, but in his mind there was no denying it—there was _something_ between Luke and Darla. An overwhelming feeling of anger rushed through him. How could Darla betray him like this? How could _Luke_ do it, his own kin?

He saw a large rock on the ground. He reached down and grabbed it; it was bigger than a football and a lot heavier, but he didn't care. With a cry of rage, he threw it as hard as he could. Breathing heavily, he watched it hit the ground and roll. _They'll pay for this._

* * *

><p>Daisy and Jesse were still outside when they heard Cooter's truck pull up. Darla ignored them all and went in the house, her face stricken. "Luke, what is going on?" asked Daisy.<p>

Luke shook his head. "Hang on a second, Daisy," he said, and followed Darla inside. She was standing by the window, her arms tightly crossed. She hadn't said a word on the way back; she'd only stared blankly out the window. Now he could see the rigid set to her shoulders; she was trying hard not to break down. That was one thing he admired about her; she wasn't weepy. And with everything she'd been through, she certainly had a right to be. What she'd gone through would have turned a lot of people into a basket case, but she had endured. She could have been the spoiled rich girl her upbringing would have allowed her to be, but she wasn't. She had a strong sense of justice, a fierce competitive streak, a hard work ethic, a lot of compassion, a strong heart, and an even stronger spirit. She'd proven she could weather any storm. So why was Bo making her weather this one? What in Heaven's name was wrong with him?

"Hey…you okay?" he asked softly.

She didn't answer for a moment. "I think I should go back to Kentucky for a while," she finally said.

"Come on, don't talk like that," said Luke.

"But I can't take this anymore, Luke," she said, her voice cracking. "I can't..." She hid her face in her hands.

Luke put his arms around her and let her head rest on his shoulder while she struggled to gain control of herself. "But you can't run, either," he said. "You ain't the type to run from anything."

Despite being upset, Darla snorted at that. "I spent over a year running, Luke," she said.

"You spent a year stayin' a step ahead of people tryin' to kill you, not runnin' away from how you feel," Luke corrected her. Darla sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Luke quickly handed her his handkerchief. He could hear Cooter talking outside with Daisy and Jesse.

"Why won't he talk to me?" she choked.

Luke had no idea, but he cast about for an answer. "Maybe...maybe he's just scared at the thought of you gettin' hurt. You coulda been hurt yesterday in that fire; you coulda been hurt today." He turned her to look at him. "I know he's actin' like a jackass, but I also know it'd kill him if anything happened to you," he said.

Darla hoped he was right. "Maybe," she admitted. Her lips trembled.

Luke sighed and put an arm around her again. This had to stop. "Look, I'll go find him," he said. "You stay here an' talk with Daisy and Uncle Jesse for a bit, an' I'll go find him. I'll find him and bring him back here, an' the two of you can talk this out. Whatever's wrong, you'll get through it. You love him, right?"

Darla nodded. "Then you'll work it out," said Luke. He tilted her chin up to look at him. Her eyes were still wet. "It'll be okay," he said softly.

The tears kept falling, but she smiled a little inwardly. She suddenly remembered another time she'd cried over a boy; she'd been about fourteen, and her first boyfriend had dumped her for a girl that was, as he put it, "more mature." She'd been devastated. Jonas had found her that night, had let her curse and shout until she got it all out of her system. Then he'd let her cry. Eventually he'd convinced her she'd been horribly treated and was better off not dating a loser.

_Oh, Jonas, I miss you,_ she thought. _What would you have thought of the Dukes? What you have thought of Bo? Would you have thought he was a good man? _She leaned against Luke and closed her eyes. She wished it was Bo that had his arms around her. _What's happened to him? What's happening to us?_

* * *

><p>From the far side of the pasture, Bo just barely heard Cooter's truck pull up to the house. When he came back, he saw Cooter talking with Daisy and Jesse, but he didn't see Luke or Darla, which fueled his anger even more. Through the living room window, he saw Luke with his arms around Darla. She was leaning against him. Bo couldn't see her face, but he saw her shoulders rise and fall in a sigh, the way she so often did when he was holding her. So it was true; apparently he wasn't the only one she acted that way with. Then Luke put his hand under her chin and tilted her face to look at him. Bo turned away before he kissed her. If he needed anything else to confirm what he already knew was true, he was seeing it now. He wasn't going to take this lying down, but Luke would, once he laid him out for stealing her.<p>

* * *

><p>Luke gave Darla's shoulders another squeeze. <em>You'd better have one heckuva good reason for actin' like this, cuz,<em> he thought. He heard the back door slam, and heavy footfalls through the kitchen. A second later he realized they were Bo's, and they were moving awfully fast. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bo coming toward them. Instinctively he pushed Darla back before Bo stormed up and punched him in the face.

Darla screamed; Luke barely had time to react to the blow before Bo was on top of him, wrestling him to the floor. The others came running in at the noise. Bo was on top of Luke, trying to hold him down long enough to punch him again. He succeeded once, hitting Luke in the jaw. Luke was trying his hardest to keep Bo at arm's length and kick him off of him. They rolled once, hitting the end table and sending the lamp crashing to the floor.

"What's goin' on in here?" Jesse yelled.

"Bo! Luke! _Stop it!"_ Daisy yelled.

"Bo, stop it! _Stop it! Please!_" Darla cried, trying to pull Bo off of Luke.

"Bo, cut it out!" shouted Cooter, jumping in. It took him along with Darla and Jesse to pull them apart. Luke managed to give Bo a glancing blow as he staggered to his feet. Bo made another lunge for Luke, but Cooter held him back.

_"That's ENOUGH!"_ Jesse shouted, getting in the middle of them. "All of you—enough already!" He got in front of Bo. "Now what in the name of all that's holy has gotten into you?"

Luke was shaking his head from the punches Bo had landed on him. "Y'know, I seem to recall another time when your temper made you start somethin' you weren't half man enough to finish," he said, glaring at Bo. Luke was struggling to resist the urge to retaliate against his cousin, but he wanted to know exactly why he was fighting first.

"Yeah, an' that's your whole deal, ain't it, Luke?" yelled Bo, still struggling against Cooter's hold. "Who's more man enough between the two of us? Or who's man enough for _her?"_

"_What?"_ exclaimed Luke.

"You think I don't know what you been up to? What you've _both_ been up to?" Bo snarled.

"Bo, stop it!" Cooter shouted, still struggling to keep Bo in check. But Bo's temper was in full swing, and now that the floodgates were open, he wasn't about to stop it. Everything he'd seen, everything he'd felt and tried to bury for the last several days, was all coming to the surface at once.

"That's what you're tryin' to prove with her, is that it? Just why did you go after her to Atlanta, huh? Maybe you figured you could have your shot at her too? And _you!_" He yelled at Darla. "It's bad enough you've been flirtin' with everyone else, now you're tryin' to make a play for _him?" _He stabbed a finger at Luke. "Why'd you come back here to me, if _he_ was the one you wanted? How long have you been sneakin' around with him, huh? How many times have you asked _him_ to stay with you at night? What, you had to try us both? You figured you'd compare and pick whichever of us you preferred, it that it?" He practically spit the words at her.

"_Bo!"_ Daisy gasped.

Everyone froze. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. No one said a word. Bo lost whatever he was going to say next as he looked at the two of them. He'd expected to see guilt on their faces; he'd expected to hear explanations. But they just stared at him in shock and disbelief. For a moment, his anger faltered.

Luke was shocked speechless for a moment. Was _that _what this was all about? Was that what Bo really thought was going on? He shook his head slightly. "How could—Bo, how could you think that? How could you think _I'd_ do that? That I'd do that to _you?_" He shook his head again and looked at Darla.

She looked like someone had stabbed her. Her face had gone chalk-white, her eyes wide as she stared at him in complete disbelief. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She shook her head slightly, and her eyes started to well up with tears. For a split second, they all saw her face crumple. Then she turned and ran out the door.

"Darla!" Daisy called after her. She threw Bo a furious glance. Bo finally broke Cooter's hold, turned and stormed out the kitchen door. Daisy and Luke ran out the front door, but they were too late. Jesse's pickup was flying out of the yard in a spray of gravel with Darla at the wheel. Seconds later, she was gone.

* * *

><p><em>Bo is <em>_SO __gonna pay for this_, Luke thought, massaging his jaw. He'd just about had it with Bo's paranoia, his temper and his mouth. No matter what he might have thought, saying something like that to Darla was too much. Maybe Luke didn't love her the way Bo did, but he still cared for her deeply, and seeing her hurt like that was making him see red as he stormed through the kitchen toward the back door. He was going to beat some sense into his hot-headed cousin that very minute, even if he had to use a two-by-four to do it.

But as he hit the door, he heard the unmistakable thump of a fist hitting flesh and a shout of pain. He went down the back steps and saw Bo on his back on the ground, his hands clutching his face. Cooter was standing over him, and the look on his face was one Luke had only seen a handful of times, usually during a brawl at the Boar's Nest. Cooter had a very long fuse; it took a lot to get him riled, but once he was, well…Luke figured he'd be safer waving a red cloth in front of a bull.

Blood was dripping from Cooter's knuckles but he took no notice. "_That's_ for talkin' to Darla like that! Now git up!" He reached down and grabbed Bo by the collar. Dragging him to his feet, he balled up his fist and punched him again. With another cry, Bo hit the dirt. "And _that's_ for bein' the biggest horse's ass in Hazzard county!" he shouted.

Cooter would have hit him again, but Luke pulled him away. "Whoa, Cooter. That's enough. Back off." As mad as Luke was with Bo at the moment, he really didn't think Bo could take another blow like that. More than one jerk at the Boar's Nest had been dragged out feet first after just one run-in with Cooter's fists.

"Yeah, Cooter, back off, 'cause _I_ want a shot at him!" Daisy was coming out the back door, frying pan at the ready, and she looked like she was ready to do some sense-knocking of her own. Luke reached out and deftly grabbed the pan from her hands before she could start swinging it, but Daisy barely slowed down. "Bo Duke, _how could you?"_ she shouted. "How could you say somethin' like that? How could you ever _think_ that of your own kin? And how could you ever think that of _Darla_?"

Breathing heavily, Bo rolled over and spat out a mouthful of blood. The left side of his face was already swelling. He looked about to say something, but Daisy plowed on. "I can't believe what I just heard! Darla gave up her entire life for you, an' _this_ is how you treat her? You think she'd come back here and agree to marry you, just so she could sneak around with _Luke_?"

"Daisy—" Luke tried to break in, but Daisy ignored him.

"Darla's never even thought that! An' she never would! You didn't hear her talk about you, all that time we were in Kentucky! You're all she ever thinks about! You're the only one she's ever really, truly been in love with, did you know that? She came back here because of how much she loves you!

"And another thing, Bo"—Daisy was almost in tears now—"Luke's done nothin' but be there for Darla like family should be, the way we all have! Luke's been the same big brother to Darla that he's been to me an' you. Did it ever occur to you how much she's missed having someone like that?

"For someone who wants Darla to join this family so bad, you sure haven't been actin' like it. These last few days you've been nothin' but selfish, jealous and just plain mean. And you couldn't have hurt her any worse than you did just now. The way you've been actin', I'm ashamed to call ya a Duke!" And with that, she spun on her heel and stalked back to the house. Cooter exchanged a look with Luke and followed her.

Luke looked back at Bo. He could already see the beginnings of an ugly bruise forming across his jaw and a swelling around his eye. He was looking after Daisy, and the look on his face was one of pain. Not just from the head-knocking Cooter had given him, but from Daisy's tirade. She'd been spot-on, and Bo and Luke both knew it.

Sometimes nothing hurt worse than the truth.

Luke sighed and felt some of the anger seep out of him. This was a part of Bo he hated to see. He slowly turned and walked back to the house. His jaw was still throbbing, but as angry as he was, he just couldn't bring himself to say anything to his cousin, let alone hit him while he was down.

As he walked into the kitchen, he heard Cooter talking. "…sorry Uncle Jesse, I know I ain't family—"

"Now, Cooter, yer as close to bein' family as ya can get without bein' kin," said Jesse as he handed Cooter an ice bag. He looked tired and sad as he sat down at the table. He'd suspected what was bothering Bo the day before, but he never thought he would lose his head like that. "An' I can't rightly say that Bo didn't have it comin'," he said.

"I'll say!" exclaimed Daisy. She had her arms crossed so tightly Luke wondered how she could breathe. He said nothing, but plunked the frying pan on the stove, reached above the fridge for another ice bag and grabbed a tray from the freezer.

Cooter stared at the ice bag on his hand and shook his head. "It wasn't right, Uncle Jesse. I mean, anybody that sees Darla look at Bo can tell in a second how she feels about him. She ain't got eyes for nobody else. How could he ever think that, 'specially 'bout you, Luke? He's got no reason—"

"Yeah, he did." The others turned to look at Luke. He was still at the counter, shaking his head. _How could I have been so blind?_ The last several days had just clicked into place; why hadn't he seen it before? He felt guilty; he'd known Bo his whole life, and he'd completely missed it. "Truth is, I think Bo was scared. And in his mind, maybe he had reason to be."

"What are you talkin' about?" exclaimed Daisy.

Luke turned. "How many times has he said, he's never loved anyone the way he loves her? And then, she goes back to Lexington with you, and comes back talkin' about a bachelorette party with a bunch of boys she knew. Then he sees Darla talkin' with Enos; I know he was wonderin' what that was about. Then he walks up on me workin' with Darla on the bow and arrows, an' then there was today with me an' Darla at the garage—"

"I was there, an' there was nothin' to that!" said Cooter.

"—an' he must have heard me and Darla talkin' the other night, and after Bo took off today, she turned to me. It's a bunch of little stuff, sure, but when you add it all up—well, who wouldn't be worried?"

"That does NOT excuse what he said!" said Daisy.

"No, it don't—but at least it explains it," said Luke. He plunked the last ice cube from the tray into the bag and screwed it shut.

* * *

><p>Enos sat in his patrol car, watching for violators. It seemed silly to him, but Rosco had said to watch Fourth and Main instead of sitting at a speed trap. He reckoned that Rosco was watching the trap himself. The sheriff was in a mood to catch the Duke boys; he got itchy for it after a week or so. So he was surprised when he saw, not the General Lee, but Uncle Jesse's pickup come tearing around the corner and screech to a stop, right in the middle of Rosco's floating No Parking zone.<p>

_How could he have missed that?_ He didn't want to ticket Jesse, but he had no choice. He got out of his patrol car and walked toward the pickup. When he was about ten feet away, he was surprised to see Darla jump out, slam the door and run across the street.

"Hey, Darla—"

"Oh, just leave it on the car, Enos! I don't care right now!" Darla shouted.

"Now Darla, ya know I can't do that, ya parked in a—hey, where're you goin?" As Enos followed her, he realized she was heading up the front steps of Boss Hogg's house. The No Parking Zone was right across the street. Enos had wondered if Boss wanted it there so he could see tickets being written from his parlor window.

Darla didn't answer him, but rang the bell. Lulu answered the door. "Why, Darla!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't expectin' you—what's wrong?"

Enos finally caught up with Darla, and saw that her eyes were red, her cheeks were wet, and despite having her arms wrapped tightly around her, she was shaking. "Possum on a gumbush, Darla, what's the matter?" he said. He'd never seen her that upset.

"I'm sorry, Lulu," Darla choked, "I didn't know where else to go, and I figured this would be the last place he'd look."

"Oh honey, did you and Bo have a fight?"

That did it; Darla burst into tears. "Oh dear, honey, come on in," said Lulu, putting an arm around her. She gestured for Enos to follow as she led Darla inside. Enos hesitated, then removed his hat and followed them in. He wasn't sure what help he'd be in a situation like this.


	9. Aftermath

_What have I done?_

The words kept echoing through his mind as he sat there, his head in his hands. If there was ever a time in his life when he'd felt worse about himself, Bo couldn't remember it. He'd been completely and totally wrong. Now with his anger spent, the realization of what he'd just said and done to his family and the woman he loved was hitting him, and it hurt worse than any blow. All he could see was Darla's face, full of disbelief and hurt. And all he could hear was Daisy's angry words, and all of them were ringing true.

It wasn't that he thought Darla was falling for Luke, or that Luke was trying to steal her affection. Deep down, he knew better. He should have realized the night before, looking through Darla's photo album. She missed her family; she especially missed her brother. And Luke was the big brother to all of them; of course he'd take on that role with Darla as well, why wouldn't he? Bo loved her more than anything, but he couldn't take Jonas's place. And in a way, Luke could. The only thing going on between them, was Darla finding the love and guidance she'd lost when Jonas died. Why didn't he see that all Luke was doing, was being the big brother Darla was so used to having?

_Because you were afraid._

The realization hit him like a freight train. That uneasy feeling he got, whenever he saw Darla with someone else; only now did he realize what it was. Not anger or jealousy, but fear. Fear of what? That she would change her mind? That she didn't love him? That she'd strayed? No, it wasn't that. He'd never doubted her.

He'd doubted himself.

_Daisy was right—she gave up everything for you. Her family, her farm, everything and everyone she's ever known. She walked away from it, for you. How can you match that? What can you give her, that could make up for that? _All he had was himself; what if that wasn't enough? What did he have, that could possibly hold her? He wasn't really worried about Luke stealing her; he was worried that Darla would realize she was too good for him, and he would lose her.

And now, he may have lost her anyway. Nothing was going to get him out of this colossal screw-up. Darla might never forgive him. She was the most precious thing in his life, and he'd blown it in the worst way possible by pushing her away in his anger. He'd accused her of being unfaithful with his own _cousin;_ how could he have been so cruel? Why hadn't he just asked Luke what was going on? A Duke would never lie; Luke would have told him the truth. Why hadn't he listened when Uncle Jesse called him back? Why hadn't he let Daisy talk to him? Why, _why?_

What kind of a monster was he, that he would treat her this way?

He heard the screen door slam, and someone approaching him across the yard. He knew by the sound of the footfalls that it was Luke. He didn't move. If Luke wanted to get his return punch in, he'd take it; it was much less than what he deserved.  
>Instead, he felt Luke nudge his elbow. He looked up slightly, and saw an ice bag being held out to him. He accepted it and held it to his face, but didn't look up. Luke sat down in the dirt next to him. They heard the sound of an engine starting, and gravel popping as a truck drove away. Cooter had left. For several minutes neither of them spoke. Finally Luke said, "Bo, I uh…I think I owe you an apology."<p>

"What? Why?" Bo's voice was thick.

"'Cause I'm an idiot," Luke sighed. "You ain't that hard to read, Bo; I shoulda realized what was bothering you, I shoulda realized what you were thinkin'. But I didn't. I can't believe I didn't. Y'know, you an' I have fought over a lot of pretty girls in our lives. But there's no need for us to fight over Darla, 'cause she's never had eyes for anybody but you."

"Luke, don't—"

"Look, lemme say this, 'cause you need to hear it," Luke went on. "Bo, I don't care for Darla the way you do. I never have. Yeah, I'm the one who went after her, but that was because of how I feel about the both of you. And—because I didn't want to see you make the same mistakes I made." Bo looked up at that, but Luke shrugged it off and went on. "And besides, I knew you were both too stubborn to see sense about each other without a nudge. You two are peas in a pod when it comes to that." Luke had hoped that might get a little laugh out of Bo, but he didn't react.

Luke sighed. "Bo, I love Darla dearly, I really do. But I love her like I love Daisy, or Uncle Jesse. She's like another little sister to me, and I reckon she feels the same way. She'll never mean to me what she means to you. And I'll never mean to her what you do. She loves _you_, Bo. She doesn't want anybody else, least of all me. And I'm sorry you got that idea. I really am."

Bo finally looked up. Luke saw the tears in his eyes as he whispered, "You shouldn't have had to say it. An' it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

"Now, Bo, don't—" Luke stopped as Bo's shoulders started to shake. Luke sighed again; he put an arm around his cousin and let Bo's head fall on his shoulder. Bo and Daisy had both grown up crying on Luke's shoulder; he was the oldest after all, and as far as he was concerned it was part of his job as the big brother. And Bo had never been the type to keep his emotions in, whether it was laughter or tears. "I know, cuz. I know," he murmured. He couldn't bring himself to say it was okay. He wasn't _that_ forgiving. But he doubted Bo could hate himself any more at the moment, and he wasn't going to rub it in.

After a minute, Bo sat up, sniffling. He wiped his right eye; the left was nearly swollen shut. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger—fortunately Cooter had missed that part of his face—and took a few shuddering breaths. "I don't deserve her."

"Well, I ain't gonna lie, you deserve a right good butt-chewin' for what you did," said Luke. "But whether or not you deserve her, that's her choice. An' she's made it; she made it the day she came back."

"But I don't know how to be the right man for her. Why should she want me, especially now? I mean, what do I really have to offer her? Daisy was right; she's given up everything for me, how do I ever measure up to that? I can't…I'll never be enough for that. For her."

"Bo, Darla didn't give up anything because you asked her to; she made that decision herself," said Luke. "She wanted to do the right thing, not just for herself, but for her family and their farm. She's got no regrets about lettin' her cousin run it. That's what's best for the farm. And bein' with you is what's best for her. If she didn't really believe that, nothin' I said would have made her come back. She's here 'cause she wants to be here, because she loves you. She's happy here. You don't need to try an' be somethin' you're not. Darla loves you because you're _you;_ bad or good, she loves everything about you."

"Except my temper, maybe," said Bo. "I wish I'd gotten your temper sometimes."

"Whaddya mean?"

"You woulda talked to her. You never would have treated her like that," said Bo, picking up a stone and chucking it across the yard. "You never lose your temper like that."

"Hah!" Luke laughed out loud.

"What?" said Bo.

"Bo, have your forgotten our entire childhood?" Luke asked incredulously. "How many times I took a swing at you with a baseball bat because you'd ticked me off? How many fights I picked on the playground? Or how many whippin's I got from Uncle Jesse because I ran off at the mouth? Bo, I had twice the temper you did as a kid! I just had a stint in the Marines to knock it out of me, that's all. Okay, maybe you let your heart rule your head, but you give every bit of your heart to the people you love. You're bull-headed, it's true, but no one could ever doubt how you feel about them."

"That's what scares me," said Bo. "How does she think I feel about her now? What—" Bo dropped his head again. "What have I _done?"_ he whispered.

Luke didn't have an answer for that.

"What am I gonna do?" Bo said in a shaky voice.

"Well first, you're gonna go inside an' apologize to Daisy and Uncle Jesse for bein' such a jackass," said Luke. "And you better make sure Daisy ain't near the fryin' pans when you do."

That got him a shaky laugh. "Yeah, thanks for disarmin' her earlier; I don't think I coulda taken another hit right then."

Luke laughed too. "I know." He sighed, and his face grew serious. "And then you're gonna wait for Darla to come home and you're gonna face the music."

Bo looked down. "She's never gonna forgive me for this, Luke."

"Now, that ain't true. You've hurt her, and you're gonna have to try and make up for that. An' she may not make it easy. But Darla ain't the type to hold a grudge. She couldn't even hate Bernardo, as hard as she tried. And I think she loves you a lot more than him."

"She shouldn't after today." Bo looked toward the General Lee. "I should go find her, I—"

"No, you shouldn't," said Luke. "Darla doesn't need the fryin' pan to kick your ass. Let her cool off; she'll come back. You might wear out those jeans you're wearin' at the knees crawlin' after her, but I think she'll forgive you." He stood up and extended his hand and pulled Bo to his feet. "Now c'mon." He started walking toward the house.

"Luke?"

Luke turned back. Bo's face was red and blotchy, one eye was red-rimmed and the other swollen, a black-and-blue mark was blooming across his jaw, and his hair was matted from the ice bag and from tears. He looked downright pathetic. "Luke, I'm—"

Luke walked back, and Bo threw his arms around him. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I know, cuz. Don't worry about it," said Luke, hugging him back. He wasn't quite done being mad yet, but knowing Darla's temper, she was probably mad enough for both of them. No sense in wasting the energy.

* * *

><p>Darla sat with her head resting on her hand at the Hogg's dining room table. Tears were streaming down her face, an untouched cup of tea in front of her. She'd managed to get the whole story out to them. Lulu sat holding her other hand. Enos sat with both of them, feeling very awkward but wanting to do something to comfort Darla. Although, short of finding Bo and knocking some sense into him, he wasn't sure what he could do. Besides, between Daisy, Luke and Uncle Jesse, he figured that line was already pretty long.<p>

Darla didn't look up. "What do I do, Lulu? I don't even know what to say to him now. How could he…how could he think any of that? How could he think Luke would ever do that? Or that I'd ever feel that way about Luke? I came back to Hazzard for Bo; how could he think anything else?"

"Well, miss Darla," Enos began, "I've known Bo an' Luke almost our whole lives. They're closer than brothers and best friends, them two, but there's always been some competition 'tween 'em. And, well…when it comes to a pretty girl, that competition ain't always friendly."

"But there _isn't_ any competition," Darla wailed. "I don't love Luke like that; I never have. And he doesn't feel that way about me. He's…" Darla wiped her eyes with the handkerchief Lulu had given her. "Being around Luke is like…like having Jonas back. Luke reminds me of him in a lot of ways. He's always looking out for me; he tries to help me with everything. And he just wants me to be happy. That's exactly the way Jonas would be. I miss him," she said, tears spilling over again. "I miss him so much sometimes. And with Luke, it just…it takes some of that away. But I don't _love_ him. I love _Bo!_" The last word came out as a sob, and she buried her head in Lulu's shoulder. She hated crying, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. Seeing Bo rage at her and hearing the venom in his words had completely shocked her out of her defenses. Eventually her sobs quieted to hiccups and coughing as she worked to calm herself down.

Enos shook his head. Bo really could be an idiot sometimes. "Listen, ladies, I really should be goin', I gotta get back out on patrol." He stood and patted Darla's shoulder. "Don't you worry, Darla; Bo's a good man, he'll come around." He started to walk out. Then he turned and said, "Darla—if I know Bo, he'll come lookin' for ya. If he asks me, should I tell him where ya are?"

Darla sat up and slowly shook her head. The urge to cough was hitting her again; she was trying to ignore it. "Not unless you have to." She managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Enos."

Enos nodded. As he walked toward the door, Lulu said, "And Enos? You go out there and you get rid of that stupid floating No Parking Zone of Rosco's. And if he or J.D. says one word about it, you tell them to take it up with me."

Enos smiled. "Yes, Miss Lulu, I sure will."

Lulu turned back to Darla and patted her hand. "Well now, do you want to head out too? Or you know, Miss Maude mentioned you were still looking for a wedding veil. I have my grandmother's and my aunt Glady's veils, I pulled them out for you…"

Darla smiled a little, but the tears threatened again. "I don't know if I feel like thinking about a wedding right now," she said.

"Now Darla, don't think like that. You and Bo love each other; that much is plain as day. And you'll have a beautiful weddin', and you'll be very happy together. This isn't the last fight you two will have, you know."

"But is it the last fight we'll have about this? I can't take this again. I'm not sure if I'll want to hug him or slug him when I see him."

Lulu laughed and said, "Well, if I know Jesse, he's probably dressed Bo down pretty good by now. That's if Daisy and Luke didn't get to him first." She stood and said, "Go on home now. Give him a chance to say he's sorry, and to make it up to you. Bo's a good boy; I think he's learned his lesson by now."

Darla stood and hugged Lulu. "Thanks, Lulu. Thanks for listening."

"Anytime, Darla honey," said Lulu, reaching for a large box in the corner and handing it to her. "Now you take these veils with you, see if there's one you want, and I'll see you soon." She showed Darla out and waved as Darla hopped back into Jesse's truck. _Everybody has one big fight before a wedding,_ she thought, _but it's usually about cake toppers or mother-in-laws._

* * *

><p>Darla headed back to the Duke farm, driving slowly. She didn't really feel like going back just yet. She knew she should give Bo the chance to apologize—she didn't have it in her to stay mad at anybody for very long, anyway—but she couldn't pretend she wasn't still hurt. No, she was still angry. <em>Better to wait<em>, she thought, until she knew she wouldn't yell at Bo. Or kick his teeth in; she was sure she could kick that high if she tried hard enough. And she might regret it later. Maybe.

She drove on, wondering where she could go that Bo wouldn't think to look. She knew Enos was right, Bo would come looking, but she didn't want to talk with anyone right now. She thought about heading for the Hazzard dam, when she passed the Devil's Ridge turnoff and something caught her eye. She stopped and backed up. No, she wasn't seeing things; it was a car, right at the top of the hill, silhouetted against the setting sun. "Now what would a car be doing up there?" she murmured. Bo and Luke wouldn't even take the General Lee that way; if you weren't driving an off-road vehicle, the Devil's Ridge turnoff didn't lead anywhere. Plus, the ridge bordered Farmer Wilson's property, and she'd heard he didn't take kindly to people taking their off-road vehicles across his land. "Wonder if they're lost," she said to herself. She turned and headed up the muddy path.

She pulled up behind the car and got out. It was an old, rusted El Camino with South Carolina plates. She looked inside, but no one was in the driver's seat. She put her hand on the hood, and quickly pulled it away. It was burning hot; someone had just been driving it. "Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone out here?" She could smell smoke and chemicals from the recent fire, and started coughing again. _Ugh, where did this stupid cough come from? _It was really starting to annoy her.

She looked around again, but she couldn't see past the first few trees in the dying sunlight. She decided to head up to the very top of the hill, when she heard the crack of a gunshot.

She didn't hesitate, but darted into the trees. She knelt in the leaves, and listened as hard as she could. Suddenly, another shot rang out. It was off to her right, over the hilltop. She thought she heard laughing. Moving as quietly as she could, she crept through the trees toward the sound.

As she reached the ridge top, the voices got louder. She heard another shot, this one louder, and men laughing. "C'mon now, Earl, is he dancin' around too much for ya?" one voice said.

"Maybe he thinks he's a bird, flittin' through them trees!" said another.

_Huh?_ Darla heard a snarl and looked into the treetops. She saw a large black shape on a branch. The men shot at it again, and she saw it jump to another branch.

Darla's jaw dropped. It was a huge, black cat.

"Oh, my gosh," she whispered. _Farmer Wilson isn't crazy—there really IS a Phantom Panther!_

The big cat was moving through the branches, clearly looking for an escape. As Darla watched, she realized the cat was too small to be a panther. It was also missing a tail. _A bobcat? _Bo had told her there were some in the Hazzard Swamp. But nobody had ever mentioned a black one before. "Oh, wow," Darla breathed. Why would it have left the Swamp? And why were they shooting at it?

Understanding hit her then, and her breath left in a rush. Suddenly she knew who had slaughtered Farmer Wilson's sheep, and who had carelessly left a campfire to burn.

_Poachers._

A black bobcat was almost unheard of, and it would be worth thousands, alive or dead. _I've got to get out of here,_ Darla realized. Then she heard a snap, and the click of a gun being cocked back. She froze.

"Enjoying the show, are we, missy?" said a rough voice. "Up."

Darla arose slowly, her hands out. She didn't turn. "Just tryin' to see who's taking their illegal gun fun to the extreme," she said over her shoulder. "Because it's not hunting season, and I highly doubt you've got permission to be on Farmer Wilson's land. Or to shoot that animal. Not to mention that your campfire nearly torched an entire farm."

"Can't be caught shootin' a cat if it don't exist, now can we?" the man said. "Everyone knows the Phantom Panther ain't real." He chuckled. "It's funny, really—we're gonna get twenty grand for a ghost cat."

"Yeah, well, you gotta catch that ghost first," said Darla, with as much bravado as she could muster. "And a black bobcat must be awfully good at hiding, if no one's ever seen it." From the trees, the cat hissed, almost in response. But the treetops were so thick, she couldn't see him. And she doubted these guys could either. "In fact, I'd say you've missed your chance."

She heard loud rustling through the brush, and two men who had been shooting at the bobcat came into view again. "Hey, Morty, you made it back!" said the one called Earl. They both looked Darla up and down.

"Yeah, and I caught this little hick chick spyin'," said Morty. "And thanks to you two idiots, we still ain't got that dang cat!"

"We can't exactly chase 'im through the trees, Morty!" the third one whined.

"Shut up. We gotta figure out what to do with this snoopin' missy," said Morty. "She's seen us and now she knows about that c—"

Morty lost whatever he was about to say next. Darla spun and aimed a kick right at Morty's midsection. He dropped like a stone; Darla jumped over him and took off.

"Git 'er!" she heard one of them yell. She reached down for a sturdy branch, spun and threw it. She heard one of them grunt as it connected. She didn't bother to look to see if they were following, but ran flat-out back toward the road. _Where the hell is it?_ Had she really come that far? She heard them in the brush behind her and ran faster. _Where am I?_

She felt something hit the back of her head and saw a flash of white light. Everything turned upside down. Her head was spinning, and she heard a roaring in her ears.

"Not so tough now, are ya girlie?" she heard someone say. "An' next time ya might wanna run AT the road 'stead of next to it." She heard someone laugh. Dimly she realized she was on the ground, and the roaring in her ears was her labored breathing.

"So what do we do with her?"

Darla heard someone stumble through the brush and felt a prick at her neck. Morty was holding a hunting knife to her throat. "For two cents, I'd slice you, bitch," he grunted. "It'd be a pleasure. But I won't dirty my blade with you. I've got a better idea." He dragged her to her feet.

"Where're we gonna stash her, Morty?" asked Earl.

"C'mon," he said. Morty wrenched Darla's hands behind her back and started shoving her through the darkening woods. Between the fading light and the spots dancing before her eyes, she had no idea where they were going. Suddenly, the black spots turned into a yawning black hole in front of her. Instinctively she struggled, but with her arms pinned, Morty was too strong for her.

"Night-night, honey," said Morty in a sing-song voice, and shoved.

Darla felt herself hurtling toward the blackness. She heard herself scream, and then she was falling into the dark.


	10. Missing

"Bo, would ya eat, already? You're insultin' Daisy, ignorin' your dinner like that," said Uncle Jesse. Bo continued to toy with his food. In addition to holding the ice bag to his swollen face with one hand, he kept looking toward the windows at every little sound.

"Bo," said Luke. "She'll be back. Ya might as well try an' eat."

Bo shook his head. "It's been hours, Luke. Where could she be?"

"Hard to say, Bo. But I doubt she'll go far. Now eat somethin'."

Bo caught Daisy glaring at him and decided he'd better not argue. Uncle Jesse had been stern with him, but he'd let the subject of Bo's behavior drop after Bo apologized. Daisy hadn't been quite that forgiving. Although, the fact that she was using the frying pans to cook with was an improvement. He ate a few mouthfuls, wincing with every chew, then went back to playing with it.

Daisy suddenly slammed her palm on the table. _"Bo!"_

They all jumped. "I'm sorry Daisy, but…" Bo looked toward the window again.

Luke sighed and put his fork down. Truth be told, he thought Bo should spend a little more time in the doghouse, but he also thought Darla would have been back by now. The sun was going down; Darla was fairly familiar with the lay of the land in Hazzard County, but she didn't like to drive by herself at night.

"C'mon, Bo, let's go look for her," he said. He'd barely gotten the words out before Bo jumped out of his chair like there was a spring beneath him. He kissed the top of Daisy's head as he ran out of the kitchen toward the front door.

Luke couldn't help but smile a little. "I don't reckon I've seen anyone so ready to admit he's been a jerk," he said.

Jesse chuckled. "You boys be careful, and make sure Darla gets back safe."

"Will do, Uncle Jesse. I better get out there before Bo takes off without me!" said Luke, as the General Lee roared to life. He ran out the door and was barely through the General's passenger window before Bo took off.

Jesse shook his head. "You know," he said to Daisy with a teasing look, "if Darla decides to forgive him, that means you're gonna have to."

"Hmph!" said Daisy, but the corners of her mouth were twitching. "It's her decision, I guess."

"Now, Daisy, Darla's family in all but the legal way, and Bo always has been. And when you're a Duke, you forgive family. That's the way it works."

"Doesn't mean I can't still be ticked at him." Daisy was genuinely trying to hide a smile now. "And it doesn't mean I have to keep his dinner warm for him, either," she said, as she put Bo's and Luke's plates in the oven. Jesse grinned as he dug into his own plate.

* * *

><p>"This is Lost Sheep callin' Little Lamb, Lost Sheep to Little Lamb. Darla, you got your ears on?" Luke waited, but there was no reply. "Lost Sheep to Little Lamb—Darla, you out there?" He looked over at Bo. From the right side, he didn't look so bad, but Luke could see his jaw clenching. "Relax, Bo, she's probably just out of earshot."<p>

Bo shook his head. "Somethin's wrong, Luke." He eased more speed out of the General Lee as they headed for town.

"Bo, you're jumpin' to conclusions again; I think you've done that enough for one day. Now let's think for a minute; where would she go?"

Bo heaved a sigh and thought for a second. "Well, she don't know the county like we do, she only knows the places we've showed her." After a minute he said, "She might go to the Hazzard Dam, or maybe Miller's Pond; she liked it there."

"What about Bronson Canyon, or Silver Lake?"

"I don't think she could find her way to Silver Lake, not in the dark. And she wouldn't risk Bronson Canyon at night," said Bo. He reached for the CB. "Lost Sheep to Little Lamb; Darla darlin', would ya answer me, please? Come on, hon, come back."

They heard a click on the mic, but it wasn't Darla. "Hey, this here's Enos, y'all. You lookin' for Darla?"

The boys looked at each other, and Bo replied, "Yeah, Enos, we're lookin' for her. You got any idea where she went?"

Enos didn't reply. Luke gestured for the CB mic. "Come on, Enos, we know you know. We need to find her. Help us out here, will ya?"

Enos was torn. He told Darla he wouldn't say where she was, but it had been a few hours; hopefully she wasn't still mad. He hoped she wouldn't mind. "Well, I saw her over to see Miss Lulu, y'all. She needed somebody to talk to, she was pretty upset." He couldn't quite keep the reproach out of his voice.

Bo felt another wave of guilt, but he couldn't help feeling relieved. He grabbed the mic. "Much obliged, Enos. We're gone." He floored the General and sped off for town.

* * *

><p>Darla opened her eyes. At least, she thought she did. It didn't seem to matter if her eyes were open or closed; it was pitch black. She was lying on something cold and damp. Pain was shooting through her head. She started to push herself up, and yelped as another sharp pain stabbed through her right shoulder. She tried to touch the painful spot on her scalp, but she couldn't get her arm to work. <em>Where am I?<em> She thought back, trying to remember.

_Phantom Panther. Poachers._

As her eyes adjusted, she could see a patch of light. She moved toward it and looked up at the moon through the trees. The treetops looked a long way away. She realized she was looking through a jagged opening of some kind. _What did they do, throw me in a pit? _Then she remembered the poachers marching her through the woods, and that awful feeling of falling before the impact, and the blackness.

She let out a breath, and saw a faint mist. It had been warm earlier in the day, but now that early autumn warmth was fading up above as the sun went down, and it was already freezing down here. She looked down and saw she was covered in something dark. She hoped it was mud and not blood. Her head was spinning, and her shoulder was killing her. Should she call out for help? What if they came back?

She looked into the blackness again, and felt a cold knot of fear start to form in her stomach.

_I'm trapped._

* * *

><p>Bo rang the bell at the Hogg's house and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't done much with himself after Cooter had slugged him; he was still covered in dust and dirt, and his shirt was speckled with blood. He wished he looked more presentable. Of course, nothing was going to hide the shiner or the swollen jaw. He wondered what Darla would say about that.<p>

"Umm…" Luke jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the porch ledge. "I'm just gonna wait out here, okay?"

Bo nodded; Luke clapped him on the shoulder and turned to go sit down as Lulu opened the door. "Oh, it's you," she said. She made no attempt to hide the disapproval in her voice.

Bo huffed a sigh. "Yeah, Miss Lulu, it's me. Can I…can I talk to her? Please?"

Lulu frowned. "You mean Darla?"

Bo looked confused. "Well, of course Darla, who else would I mean?"

"Well—she ain't here, Bo, she's gone."

"What?" Bo felt his stomach lurch.

"She left?" Luke joined Bo at the door.

"Almost three hours ago," said Lulu, looking at her watch. "Oh my goodness, didn't she make it home?"

"She didn't say where she was goin'?" asked Bo.

"She said she was goin' back to the farm. She didn't mention anything else."

"Alrighty, thanks Lulu," said Luke, and the boys ran off the porch and headed to the General. They tore out of the square and headed back out of town.

"I knew it. I_ knew it,_" said Bo. He struck the steering wheel with his fist. He felt sick. "Somethin's happened to her, Luke. I know it. And it's…" He shook his head. Luke saw him swallow hard.

"Take it easy, cuz. We'll find her." Luke got on the CB again. "Lost Sheep to Sheppard, Bo Peep and Crazy C. We got a problem, come back y'all."

"Crazy Cooter comin' back at ya loud and proud, what's up y'all, come back?" answered Cooter.

"This is Sheppard, what is it, boys?" Jesse chimed in.

"Jesse, has Darla come back?" Luke figured he ask.

"No. Why?"

"Cooter, have you seen her?" He was really reaching now.

"Naw, not since the afternoon. What's goin' on?"

Luke sighed. "She left the Hogg's place nigh on three hours ago, and I don't think anyone's seen hide nor hair of her since."

_Oh, no,_ Cooter thought. "Alrighty then boys, where do we start lookin'?"

"Daisy, Jesse, why don't you check the Boar's Nest, just in case she went there," said Luke. "Maybe someone there's seen her tonight. Try Miller's Pond, too. Now if she was headed home, there's only two ways she could have gone. Cooter, can you take Pond Road? Me an' Bo will take Ridge Road. Hopefully we'll find somethin'."

"Ten-four Luke; we'll holler if and when we find her," said Jesse.

"Ten-four, good buddies, I'm gone," said Cooter. _I sure hope I don't have to knock some sense into Darla, too,_ he thought as he headed for his truck. _One Duke a day is enough._

"This is all my fault, Luke," said Bo. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "If anything happens to her, I—" He couldn't finish.

Luke looked at his cousin. He could barely see him in the twilight. "Pull over, Bo."

"What for?"

"Pull over _now._"

Bo hit the brakes; the General skidded to a halt. "What?"

Luke turned to face Bo and put a hand on his shoulder. "First of all, if you're that riled up, you need to let me drive. And secondly," he squeezed Bo's shoulder gently, "She's out here somewhere. We don't know if somethin's happened to her at all; she may have just decided she wanted time alone."

Bo's eyes were filling up. "Everything I said to her, I—what if I don't get to…"

"Bo," said Luke, "You'll get to. _We will find her._ Okay?"

Bo sniffed and wiped his eyes again, and nodded. "Okay."

"Now will you let me drive, please?"

"Nope," said Bo. "Sorry cuz, but I'll be even more of a basket case over there." He fired the General back up and they sped off.

* * *

><p>"We ain't just gonna leave her down that hole, are we?"<p>

"Shut up, Timmy," said Morty, staring at the campfire.

"But we can't—"

"I said _shut up,_" Morty snapped again. "We're gonna go find that cat at first light, bag it and get outta here and get our money." He absently rubbed his stomach.

"You're just pissed 'cause a chick got the drop on you," sneered Earl.

Morty chucked a rock at him. "Ow!" whined Earl.

"Yeah, I'm not a bad shot with a rock either, ya jerk," said Morty. "Now shut yer traps, both of ya." He flopped back on his sleeping bag. Timmy lay back too, but he didn't sleep. _We're just supposed to bag this bobcat,_ he thought, _not kidnap a girl._

* * *

><p>"Lost Sheep callin' Bo Peep, Sheppard and Crazy C," said Luke over the CB. "Y'all had any luck yet?"<p>

"Negative, Luke," said Daisy. "We drove by Miller's Pond and the Boar's Nest. She wasn't there, and Deanna says she ain't been there all night. Even Boss said he hadn't seen her. But he must be worried; Lulu called him, and he said he'd send Rosco and Enos out to help if we can't find her."

"Crazy C comin' back at ya," said Cooter. "I'm sorry y'all, but I been up and down Pond Road twice, and I ain't seen a thing."

Luke sighed. "All right, well, let's meet back at the farm and we'll decide what to do next. We may have to re-think where she might be."

"Ten-four, cuz," said Daisy.

"That's a big ten-four, I'm on my way," Cooter chimed in.

Luke put the mic down and looked at Bo. He could only see the faint outline of his face in the glow of the headlights. His cousin had said very little during their search, and Luke sensed that Bo was trying to hold himself together. Since Bo was focused on the road ahead of him, Luke let his gaze drift off to the trees. Suddenly, he caught the faintest glimmer of white out of the corner of his eye. "Wait, Bo—go back, go back!" he said.

Bo hit the brakes just past the Devil's Ridge turnoff. "What? What'd ya see?" He threw the General in reverse and backed up. They both looked up the hill. They could make out a white shape near the top, glowing faintly in the moonlight.

Luke squinted at it. "Is that Uncle Jesse's truck?"

"Sure looks like it," said Bo excitedly, and spun the General's tires as he headed up the rutted dirt road. The headlights illuminated the back of the pickup; the grimy license plate told them it was indeed Jesse's old Ford.

"It _is_ her!" said Bo. "Darla!" He was shouting for her before he got out of the General. They both ran for the cab; Bo yanked the door open. "She's not here," he said.

"What?"

"She's not here!" Bo turned around and looked wildly into the trees. "Darla!" he shouted again.

Luke put his hand on the hood—it was cool, she'd been gone for a while—and then looked at the muddy, rutted road. "Bo, take a look at this," said Luke, kneeling down by the front of the truck. The tires were splattered with mud, and there were deep grooves in the wet road. "Someone else was up here. Looks like they took off in a hurry. And look here," he said, pointing at sets of footprints in the mud, thrown into relief by the General's headlights. "These have got to be Darla's; looks like she went off this way. And," Luke's face turned grim as he saw another set of tracks, "it looks like either somebody was with her, or they followed her." He suddenly realized Bo wasn't there to listen and turned around. "Bo?"

Bo was striding off into the trees. "Wait—Bo, wait a minute!" Luke ran after him.

"I'm goin' to find her, Luke," said Bo. His face was stony. "Are you comin' or not?"

Luke grabbed Bo's arm and dragged him to a stop. "Hang on, Bo—"

"Let go, Luke!"

"Bo—"

"_LET GO_!" Bo yanked his arm away, but Luke got in front of him and grabbed his shirt.

"Bo, _stop!_" he yelled, but Bo wasn't listening. He struggled against Luke's grip; Luke had to fight hard to keep hold of him.

"Dang it, Bo, I don't wanna fight with you again!" yelled Luke. "Bo, look at me! _Look at me!"_ Bo finally stopped and looked at his cousin, breathing heavily.

"Ya can't go runnin' off in the woods in the dark by yourself," said Luke, speaking slowly and deliberately. "We'll lose both of you. Now, I said we'd find her, and we will. But if we gotta look all over Devil's Ridge in the dark, that means we're lookin' for a needle in a mighty big haystack. And we can't do it alone. Let's get the others, and Enos and Rosco too. We'll get some lights up here, and we'll figure out a search plan. Okay?"

Bo was still breathing hard; Luke realized he was trying not to break down again. He put a hand on Bo's shoulder. "Bo," he said softly, _"_I promise you, we'll find her." He reached out and hugged him. Bo hugged back and felt tears in his eyes again. "I'm scared, Luke," he whispered.

Luke knew what it cost his cousin to admit that. "I know, cuz. I am too," he said. And he was; he knew as well as Bo did, that Darla would never run off like this and make them worry, no matter how mad she was. Something had to have happened. He started steering Bo back to the General Lee. "Listen, go get on the CB, call the others and get them out here."

"What're you gonna do?"

Luke went back to Jesse's truck. "I'm gonna look in here and in the General for some flashlights or lanterns so we can look around." He jumped up in the truck bed.

"I thought you just said we were gonna wait!" said Bo.

The General's headlights caught Luke's grin. "Yeah, but you're too stubborn to listen to me, ain't ya?"

* * *

><p>An hour later, the Devil's Ridge turnoff was bright as day from six pairs of headlights. Daisy passed out coffee to everyone as they gathered up jackets, lanterns and flashlights.<p>

"Awright, ever'one, now here's what we're gonna do," said Rosco. "We're gonna dee-vide and conquer. Some of us'll go East, some'll go West, and the rest will head South."

"Nah, Rosco, we can't do that," said Luke. "This whole area's too big; we gotta stick together or we'll miss half of what's out here."

"Now you listen here, Luke Duke—" Rosco began, but Enos broke in. "Luke's right, Sheriff. We gotta stick together in the dark."

"Enos, are you contradictin' your superior officer?" Rosco blustered.

"Beggin' yer pardon, Sheriff, but we did learn search and rescue in the LAPD, and the only way we'll find anything out here at night is if we stick together." He turned to the others. "Everybody spread out an arm's length apart. Keep your lights pointed forward. We all walk at the same pace. We'll go about a mile out and back. Every pass we make, we'll come back here."

"Wait a minute, Enos, her footprints went off this way!" said Bo.

Enos gave him a sympathetic look. "Bo," he said gently, "She coulda gone any which way, once she got into the woods. And it's pitch-black out here; we'll never find the rest of her tracks now. Short of waitin' 'til mornin', this is the best we're gonna do."

Bo and Luke exchanged a look. "Okay, Enos, it's your show," said Luke. "Where d'you want us to start?"

Enos nodded at the muddy road. "We start right here. Up the road and back."

* * *

><p>Darla was shaking from the cold. The clothes she was wearing offered no protection from the damp chill of the pit. The pain in her head had already made her sick, and it was still throbbing like mad; she was trying not to let her stomach turn over again. Her shoulder ached fiercely, and to top it off, she was coughing again; every spasm sent shooting pains through her head, chest and shoulder.<p>

She'd tried feeling her way around her prison, but all she did was blindly stumble through the dark; she'd never made contact with anything, and she was too afraid to go very far from the light.

She absently rubbed her wrist; then she felt up and down her arm. "Oh, no," she whispered. Her saints' bracelet was missing. She'd rarely taken it off since Bo had given it to her. It had become a great source of comfort to her, and Bo's thoughtfulness in giving to her still touched her heart. And now, she had no idea where it was.

She curled up in a ball under the opening of the pit. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks as she rested her head on her knees. A whimper escaped her throat and echoed lightly around the chamber. "Please," she whispered, "Please, somebody help me."

A faint scratching sound came from overhead. She looked up, trying not to move her shoulder. She heard the light padding of feet through the dead leaves, and saw a dark shape look down at her. A growl echoed through the cave.


	11. Lead Me On

After six hours, the sky turned grey in the east as the sun started to think about rising. They'd been out all night, walking back and forth for miles, with no sign of Darla. They slumped against the cars, exhausted. Daisy had gone back to the farm during the last two sweeps, and was waiting for them with more coffee and sandwiches. Everyone dug in but Bo, who leaned against the front of the General Lee, staring off into space.

Daisy brought him a cup of coffee. "Here ya go, hon," she said quietly.

Bo took it without looking. "Thanks, Daisy," he said dully. There were shadows under his eyes in addition to the bruises on his eye and jaw, and his voice was hoarse from shouting for Darla. He looked older than she'd ever seen him. Daisy put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Bo was surprised, but he was grateful for the support and wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sorry I tried ta womp ya with the fryin' pan earlier," Daisy said.

"Yeah, well, I can't say I didn't deserve it," said Bo. "And besides, Cooter's fists are about the same size as your fryin' pan, anyways."

He looked sideways at Cooter. The mechanic raised his coffee cup in a salute and said, "Yeah, an' there's no question you deserved _that_."

Bo gave a tired smile. "I know."

Cooter walked over and put a hand on Bo's shoulder. "Have a little faith, man," he said. "We'll find her."

Enos had wandered off the road, looking at nothing in particular, when his eye caught the faintest glimmer of something in the brightening light. When he looked for it, it was gone. He looked toward the East; the sun was almost up. He turned back to where he thought he'd seen the glimmer, and waited.

The sun broke over the horizon, flooding the hillside with streaks of light as it filtered through the trees. Enos saw something glow bright gold in the brush and brambles. He ran and picked it up. "Bo! Bo, come 'ere!"

They all ran toward Enos's voice. Bo got there first. "What?" he said breathlessly.

Enos showed him the object in his hand. It was a short chain of gold, with several small medallions hanging from it that had been reflecting the morning light. "This is hers, ain't it?" he asked.

Bo took it and stared at it for a second. He nodded slightly. "It's the bracelet I gave her. She never goes anywhere without it." He had to bite his lip to keep it from trembling.

Hoping to head off another breakdown, Luke said, "Well, that settles it—we look in this direction now. And we can spread out now the sun's up." He put an arm around Bo's shoulders. Daisy came over and hugged him around the waist. They stood there for a minute, their arms around each other. "We're gonna find her, Bo, I know it," said Daisy. Bo took a deep breath and nodded.

"All right, everybody spread out now, but try an' stay within earshot," said Enos. He headed off with Jesse, while Daisy and Luke stayed close to Bo. That left Cooter and Rosco to pair up, and they headed across the sloping, rocky ground.

After half a mile, Cooter started noticing marks in the dirt near a large thicket of brush and fallen trees. He knelt and studied the ground. He wasn't the tracker Bo and Luke were, but he knew tracks when he saw them. "Hey Rosco, check this out. Somebody's been walkin' through here," he said. As Rosco walked over, Cooter heard loud chewing. He looked at Rosco and saw him gnawing on what looked like jerky. "Now where in the Sam Hill did you get that?" he asked.

"It's my own private stash," Rosco replied smugly, closing his ammunition pouch. "Rhuebottom's premium prize jerky, 'case I need num-nums while I'm out on patrol. And it's all for me, I don't—Cooter? Cooter, are you listenin' to me?"

Cooter was crouched, frozen in place, looking into the brush. _"Rosco. Don't. Move,"_ he whispered.

"What're you talkin' about?" said Rosco, following Cooter's stare. "_Dgitdgitdgit!" _he stuttered and fumbled for his pistol.

On a fallen tree in front of them, yellow eyes stared from a coal-black face. A huge black bobcat was watching them from the edge of the thicket. Rosco pointed his pistol at it; the big cat snarled in response.

"No! Geez, Rosco, put that down!" Cooter whispered harshly.

"Are you kiddin' me? That there's the Phantom Panther!" said Rosco.

Cooter rolled his eyes. "It's just a bobcat, Rosco," he said, "albeit a black one. Now there's somethin' ya don't see every day," he murmured.

The big cat hissed, but made no move toward them. The tufts of fur on its cheeks and ears left no doubt it was a bobcat. It was definitely smaller than a panther, but for a bobcat, it was huge. It looked over its shoulder, then back at them, then turned and slipped silently into the thicket of brush. They had barely let out a sigh of relief, when suddenly the bobcat was back on the tree, staring at them again. It let out a growl and disappeared again, then came back to the tree. "What is he doin'?" hissed Rosco.

Cooter hadn't moved from his crouch, but something about the bobcat's actions seemed off. "Call me crazy, but—I think he wants us to follow him," he said.

"Follow him?" exclaimed Rosco. "Oh, he wants us to follow him, all right; follow him right into his lair so he can chomp on us for breakfast, that's what he wants!"

"Whatever, Rosco; I'm followin' him," said Cooter. "You can stay here. Maybe his girlfriend'll come by and keep ya company," he finished with a grin. Rosco flinched, then followed Cooter into the thicket, muttering to himself.

Once they got into the thicket, the cat disappeared. Cooter stumbled over dead brush, fallen trees and branches, Rosco following behind him. He heard the faint growl of the cat somewhere near him. Suddenly he jerked to a stop so quickly that Rosco bumped into him, nearly knocking him into the giant hole in front of them. "What the heck is this?" he said.

"Now, ya see there? He's lurin' us into a trap!" said Rosco, pointing at the hole. The bobcat jumped in front of them and growled again, then turned and slipped away. _He brought us to a hole?_ _What in the heck is this about? _Cooter thought. He must really be sleep-deprived, to be crazy enough to follow a cat. He'd nearly fallen in the dumb thing.

_Nearly fallen in…_ He grabbed his flashlight and shined it in the hole. His jaw dropped. He spun and yelled, "Bo! We've got her! _Over here, we've got her!"_

* * *

><p><em>Darla…<em>

She couldn't move. There was nothing left to her. She had no body anymore. But she could feel pain.

_Darla…_

Papa? Jonas? Were they calling her? Where were they? Was she with them? Nothing was making sense. Why couldn't she move? Why was it so dark? Why did everything hurt, if she had no body?

If this was Heaven, then she was definitely demanding a refund from all her tithing.

_Darla!_ "Darla! Darla, wake up! Luke, I gotta get down there!"

_Bo?_ Darla opened her eyes. She could see a dark outline of rough stone walls. She was lying on cold, slimy moss and dirt, curled up in a ball. She tried to sit up, but her arms and legs wouldn't work; they were too stiff. Her hands and feet were so numb she couldn't feel them.

"Darla!" She heard Bo calling her frantically. "Dang it, Luke, get me down there!"

"Hang on, Bo," she heard Luke say. "Enos ran back for some rope; we can't get down there without it."

_Enos? _Things really weren't making sense now. Darla tried to move her limbs again; a moan escaped her lips as pain shot through her shoulder. "Bo?" she croaked.

"Darla," she heard Bo almost sob in relief. "Hang on honey, we're gonna get you out of there." She heard other voices; why did they all sound so far away?

Slowly, she rolled over on her back and looked up. There was a circle of bright light above her. She could see several familiar silhouettes looking down.

* * *

><p>"Darla, honey, talk to us, please!" said Daisy. "Can you move at all? Are you hurt?"<p>

"Shoulder," they heard her say.

"We gotta get her outta there, Luke!" said Bo.

"We will, Bo, just hang on," Luke answered. "Darla, hang in there a minute, okay? Try and move around a little." He looked around the thicket, then over at Cooter. "What in the heck made you think to look in here?"

"Well, I'll tell ya, Luke, it was the weirdest thing," said Cooter. "Me an' Rosco were walkin' over there—" he jerked his thumb behind him—"when a big ol' black bobcat got the drop on us."

In spite of his worry, that got Bo's attention. "Wait—a black bobcat?" He and Luke exchanged a look.

Cooter nodded knowingly. "Yep—looks like maybe the Phantom Panther legend wasn't a shuck an' jive after all. Anyway, he kept walkin' back and forth at us, tryin' to get us to follow him. Strangest thing I ever seen—it's like he knew she was down there."

Just then Enos came running back with a rope. "Darla," he said, "grab this and we'll pull you up!" They started feeding the rope down.

But Darla just stared numbly at the rope in front of her. "Can't," she finally said.

"What?"

"I can't," Darla moaned. It seemed hard to make her mouth work right; her lips felt like they were made of wood. "I can't grab the rope; I can't feel my hands, and I think my shoulder's busted. I can't do it."

"Bo, she's been down there for hours, and you know how cold it gets in these caves," said Luke, pointing the flashlight at her. "She's gotta be freezin'; she may be hypothermic." He shook his head. "You're right—we gotta get you down there."

Bo didn't hesitate as Luke and Cooter stood together, threw the rope over their shoulders and braced themselves. "Go on," said Luke.

Bo leaned back across the hole and started lowering himself. The rocky opening was covered with moss, and his foot slipped as he tried to ease himself down. For a second his palms burned against the rope as Luke and Cooter struggled to hang on to him. "Move it, Bo!" Luke yelled.

"Darla, look out!" Bo quickly did a hand-over-hand down the rope and dropped as soon as he dared, slipping again as he hit the ground. "Darla?" He turned around.

Darla was hunched over, her right shoulder at an odd angle, her lips bluish. Her pale skin was streaked with mud and blood, and her eyes looked strangely blank. "Bo," she whispered. She staggered forward.

"Oh, baby," said Bo, and folded her in his arms. She felt like ice. He kissed her hair, then tilted her face to his and kissed her cheeks, her forehead, and her lips, while he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, baby." He wrapped his arms around her again.

Darla leaned into his embrace. His arms were strong and warm around her. It felt like an eternity since she'd felt that warmth. For a minute, neither of them spoke. She felt Bo shaking, and looked up to see tears in his eyes. "Did you miss me?" she croaked.

Bo let out something between a laugh and a sob, and touched his forehead to hers, that intimate gesture they'd done so many times before. "Yeah, you could say that," he answered in a broken whisper, and kissed her again. "Oh God, Darla, I love you so much. I'm so sorry."

"What happened?" said Darla, as she looked at him closer. "Who did this?"

"Oh, um…Cooter thought I was pretty horrible to you," said Bo with a nervous laugh.

"_Cooter_?" asked Darla.

"Bo? How's she doin'?" Luke called out from above them.

"Cooter!" Darla croaked louder, looking up. "If Bo's face hasn't healed by the wedding, so help me, I'll make _your_ face match!"

The others laughed in relief, hugging each other. "You better watch out, Cooter, 'cause she's prob'ly not kiddin'," said Luke.

Down below, Bo laughed too, and pulled Darla closer. She flinched and moaned as pain shot through her shoulder again.

"Lemme see." Bo tilted her face and looked at the bump on her head. It looked bad, but he knew head wounds tended to bleed a lot. Then he put his hands on her shoulder, probing with his thumbs. He flinched himself when she cried out. "Luke, her shoulder's hurt pretty bad," he called up.

"You think it's broken?"

"No. It looks like it's dislocated."

_Oh, great. _Luke frowned and looked at Uncle Jesse. They both knew what Bo was going to have to do. "You're gonna have to re-set it, Bo," he said.

"What?"

"Remember that time you fell out of the barn loft when you were ten?" said Luke. "You remember what I had to do?"

Bo looked up toward Luke, horrified. He shook his head. "Luke, I can't—"

"You've got to, Bo, or she can't use the rope to get out," said Luke. He felt terrible about what Bo had to do, but there was no alternative. "Right now, she's still cold so she won't feel the pain as much." He doubted that was true, but he didn't want Bo to feel any worse about it.

Bo closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Uncle Jesse, send your lantern down; I gotta see what I'm doin'." They pulled the rope up and tied Jesse's lantern to it. It gave out a soft glow as they lowered it down. Bo looked around and saw a place where the rock jutted out from the wall.

"C'mere, hon," he said, and took Darla's hand. "I gotta do this." Darla closed her eyes and nodded; she knew. He positioned Darla in front of him and squeezed his eyes shut. _God forgive me, _he thought. He grabbed her arm, twisted it back, and with all his strength, slammed her shoulder into the rock wall.

He felt a sickening crunch under his hand. Darla let out a hoarse scream and fell to her knees. Bo dropped with her and grabbed her in his arms again. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said over and over. He rocked her back and forth while she whimpered.

Up above, the others all winced at Darla's cry. Luke shook his head. He remembered how Bo had cried after Luke had re-set his shoulder, all those years ago. It had killed him to do it to his cousin; he couldn't imagine what it had just cost Bo to have to do it to Darla.

"Bo? You guys all right down there?" he called.

"Not really," said Bo, "but give us a minute and I'll send Darla up." He felt her shiver in his arms. He quickly shrugged his jacket off and pushed her arms into it. "We need to get you out of here," he said. "You think you can hold the rope now?"

Darla was still favoring her shoulder, but managed a smile. "I dunno, we may have to tie me to it. Tying me up could be fun."

Bo gave her a shocked look and laughed in spite of himself. How could she still joke after all this? He hoisted the lantern again as they got to their feet, and Bo and Darla finally got a good look at the chamber they were in. "Hang on a minute." He held it up higher and they looked around.

The chamber was almost perfectly round, with moisture glistening on the walls. There were patches of moss here and there on the dirt floor, but in the middle, right under the hole, the stone was darker, almost black. He looked back at the walls. At first he'd thought there was moss growing on them too, but the colors were wrong. There was green, red and black…

"Whoa," he said, moving closer. "Look at this!" There were paintings everywhere on the walls. Some of them were just random designs, some were figures of people, and there were also a lot of animals. Even Darla, cold as she was, couldn't help but be amazed. "Is that a bear?" she pointed.

"Sure does look like one; Uncle Jesse said there used to be some in the Hazzard Swamp," Bo answered, still gazing at the walls. "Hey y'all," he called out, "you oughta see this! This is one o' them old Indian caves! There's paintings everywhere down here!" He looked around. "I can't believe we never found this! I thought we explored every bit of these caves when we were kids!" He looked around more. "Now how in the heck did them Indians get in here?"

"Through that," said Darla, pointing at a wide crack in the rock, partially hidden by the shape of the wall. "It probably leads to another tunnel or a cave entrance. If I'd known it was here, I probably could have gotten myself out." She looked up at Bo and said, "At least you found me." She coughed again.

He put his arms around her again and kissed her hair. "I never would have stopped lookin' for you," he said. "I'da dropped dead first." He tilted her chin up to look at him. "Darla, I love you. And I am the biggest jerk in all o' Hazzard county for sayin' those awful things to you. I know I don't deserve for you to forgive me, but…I'm so sorry."

Darla's dark hazel eyes looked into Bo's dark blue ones. "Yeah, you _were_ the biggest jerk in all of Hazzard County. But if you get me out of here, I might think about downgrading you." She let her head rest on his chest. Suddenly she gasped.

Bo immediately let go, thinking he'd hurt her shoulder again. But Darla was staring at another painting on the wall. It looked like a tree, at and at the top of it was the depiction of a large black cat.

"The black bobcat," said Darla. "The _poachers._"

"What?"

"Poachers. They were tracking a black bobcat, and I caught them. That's who threw me down here. They didn't want me telling anybody about them."

"Wait—somebody threw you down here? They _left_ you here?" Bo's voice got harder as he said it.

Darla nodded. "They were hot on getting that bobcat. I got in their way," she said softly. She looked up at Bo, then over at the rope, still dangling from the cave opening. "We've gotta find them."


	12. Who's Hunting Who

As they headed back to the road, Darla filled the others in on the bobcat, and the poachers chasing it. "They s-s-said they were gonna g-g-get twenty grand f-for it," she said through chattering teeth. Her arms and legs were screaming in protest as blood started to flow back through them. She was almost in tears. Bo had wanted to carry her back, but Luke insisted she walk to get her circulation moving again. Bo tried to hold her closer as they headed through the trees. They were moving slowly, letting Darla move at whatever pace she could manage. Daisy and Jesse had gone ahead to run a hot bath and warm some towels for her when they got her home.

"They ch-ch-chased me; I got t-turned around and didn't kn-know which way t-t-to run. And one of 'em c-caught me in the head with a rock. Then they threw me down there," she said. Then she was overcome by another fit of coughing.

"Twenty grand, huh? Wonder who put 'em up to that," said Bo. He didn't say it, but Luke knew what he was thinking.

Apparently Rosco knew it too. "It ain't the Boss, Bo," he said. "I know he's come up with a lotta schemes, but even he believes the Phantom Panther's a myth."

Cooter stepped up alongside Luke. "Luke," he murmured softly, "Somebody's watchin' us. Look left, 'bout thirty yards."

Luke nodded slowly and looked out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't see anything, but he didn't doubt Cooter. "Hey, hold up, y'all," he said suddenly. He stopped and knelt in the dirt like he was looking at something.

"What is it?" asked Bo.

"We're bein' watched," Luke said softly. Everybody look left—now!"

They all looked up and searched the hillside. None of them except Cooter knew exactly where to look, but it had the intended effect. A figure ran off between the trees.

"_Hey!"_ The boys and Enos took off after him. Bo, with the longest legs, quickly outdistanced the others. The man tried to look over his shoulder and tripped over the rifle he was carrying. He stumbled and fell; Bo tackled him before he could get back up. "What were you doin', huh?" he yelled. The man tried to break free, but Bo got on top of him and pummeled him with his fist. "Did you do this to her? _Did you leave her down there?"_

He was ready to hit the guy again, but Luke caught up to him and pulled him back. The man tried to run again, but by then Enos was there. As he slapped cuffs on him, Bo was still trying to break Luke's grip. "Lemme at him, Luke!" he yelled.

"Bo, we need him to talk, and he can't do that with a broken jaw, all right?" Luke said. Bo was still staring at the man on the ground in fury, but relaxed his stance. Luke turned back to look at their eavesdropper. Enos had him sitting up on the ground. Between the look on his face and the swelling on his jaw from where Bo had hit him, he looked more like a scared kid than anything.

Enos was unloading the boy's weapon; he turned and showed Bo and Luke the rounds. "Thirty-aught-six hollow points," he said, looking down at the kid. "Them's some pretty serious huntin' rounds."

"Yeah," Luke agreed, taking one in his hand. "A little strong for huntin' bobcat, don't ya think?" The boy's eyes widened. "Funny thing, though," Luke continued, "it ain't open season for anything in Hazzard County. Which makes me wonder what you'd be needin' rounds like this for."

The kid on the ground shot him a sullen look, but remained silent. "Okay," said Enos, "you don't wanna answer that question, let's start with somethin' simpler—like your name."

"Man, stuff it. I ain't got nothin' to say."

Luke and Enos exchanged a look. "Fine," said Luke, and knelt down next to him. "Lemme put this another way." He jerked a thumb behind him. "I believe you've already met my cousin Bo here. And that was his fiancée you threw in that hole. Now, you either start talkin', or we're gonna let him re-introduce himself."

"I'm all for that. I can be _real_ up close and personal," said Bo, stepping forward. The boy's eyes widened further; he looked up at Enos, but the deputy showed no sign of intervening. "Look, it wasn't my idea! It was Morty!" the boy said quickly.

"Well, now we're gettin' somewhere!" said Luke.

"I dunno Luke, I'd still like to _re-introduce_ myself!" Bo started to step forward again, but felt a light hand on his arm. Darla had finally caught up to them, supported heavily by Cooter. "Maybe he should introduce himself first," she said, her voice hoarse.

"It's Timmy! Look, Morty threw her in the hole, okay? We was huntin' that bobcat! Morty heard about it a while back when he was passin' through here; he said he had a buyer for it. She caught us and Morty freaked! Then she kicked the crap out of him and tried to run. He got pissed!"

"Yeah, well, gettin' your butt kicked by someone half your size can do that," said Luke.

"So you were the ones that killed Farmer Wilson's sheep?" Bo demanded.

Timmy nodded. "We were tryin' to bait the cat, but all we got were coyotes," he said.

"I suppose you went an' left your campfire burnin', too?" asked Cooter.

"That was an accident," said Timmy.

"No, it was stupid," said Luke. "Now where are your friends at?"

"I dunno," said Timmy. Bo stepped forward again. "I don't!" Timmy said desperately. "We split up to hunt; I don't know where the others went!"

"Where'd you camp at last night?"

Timmy jerked his head toward the top of the ridge. "Up there, on the far side of the cliff edge. We took off when we heard y'all shoutin'."

"And you left her down there," said Bo. His voice had gone quiet, but his eyes were full of rage.

"I was comin' back! I didn't want to leave her down there; I was gonna check on her!"

Bo started to say something else, but Enos broke in. "Boys, let's get Darla home; I'll take this loser back to the jailhouse and we can round up the others later," he said.

The others agreed and headed for the cars. Bo didn't challenge Luke for who would drive; he helped Darla through the General's window and climbed in next to her, trying to hold her tight enough to keep her from shaking. "Take it easy, Darla darlin'," Bo whispered to her, "we'll get you home in no time."

Darla felt like her teeth were going to come loose, they were chattering so hard, which was making her head hurt even worse. As she looked out the window, it seemed like there was two of everything. She started coughing again. It seemed like everything hurt; her head, her shoulder, her chest, her stomach. She buried herself further into Bo's arms. "Just make it stop, please," she whimpered.

Bo's throat ached; he held her tighter. "You're gonna be all right, Darla; I promise," he whispered fiercely.

Darla closed her eyes as they headed back down the turnoff toward the road. But she snapped them open again and braced herself when Luke suddenly hit the brakes and swerved.

"Luke, look out!" said Bo.

"Now where's this guy goin?" Luke muttered. Darla looked up; another car had cut Luke off, right as the General Lee hit the main road. It was a rusted El Camino.

Darla's eyes widened. "Does that thing have South Carolina plates?" she asked.

Bo squinted at it. "Looks like it, why?"

Darla sat up. "It's them," she said. "Go after them."

Bo and Luke looked at each other, then back at the road. "Get Enos an' Rosco on the horn," said Luke, and floored the General.

* * *

><p>"You just gonna leave Timmy here?" asked Earl as they sped down the road.<p>

"He went and got himself caught; you saw it," Morty snapped, his eyes on the road. "They're not gonna catch us too; we're gettin' outta here."

They sped down the dirt roads, heading for the highway, when they passed the Devil's Ridge turnoff again and saw an orange blur as they drove past. "Hey, isn't that the orange car we saw at that bar?" said Earl.

"Who cares?" said Morty.

* * *

><p>Luke took off after the car. The El Camino had some distance on the General, but Luke was the better driver and quickly caught up to them. They heard sirens behind them as Rosco and Enos caught up to them. "All right now, boys," said Enos over the CB. "You found 'em, now let us take care of 'em."<p>

"I got an idea, Enos," said Luke. "You'll chase 'em all over unless we get a roadblock set up, and you can't do that while you're behind 'em. The Upper Mill turnoff's comin' up; you stay on their tail, and we'll get in front of 'em." Luke veered right and rose above the El Camino. The General fought to stay ahead of the others as it climbed the steep hill.

"That's gonna be a long jump, Luke," said Bo.

"Better brace yourself, then!"

"Should I be doing a Hail Mary for this?" Darla shouted.

"Couldn't hurt—hang on!" Bo grabbed Darla as they headed for the edge.

Luke floored the General and heard the _'whuff'_ of the carburetor sucking in all the air it could. The engine responded with a roar and surged forward. They hit the edge and soared through the air, sailing neatly over Rosco and Enos, and the El Camino. They hit the ground with a thud and a crunch. They all stared at each other for a second. "Did we just do that?" asked Bo.

"That we did, cuz!" said Luke, and spun the General across the road, blocking the El Camino, which skidded to a stop. The driver and passenger got out and started running.

"Which one of 'em hurt you, Darla?" asked Bo.

Darla looked at their rapidly retreating figures. "The driver," she said.

"He's mine," Bo growled as he and Luke climbed out of the General. The boys and Enos took off after the poachers. Darla pulled herself out of the General, stumbled to the El Camino and looked in the back. Then she went to Enos's patrol car and opened the door.

* * *

><p>The boys sprinted after Morty and Earl. Luke caught up with Earl first and tackled him around the waist. One punch and Earl was cowering on the ground. "Don't hurt me, I didn't do nothin'!" he shouted.<p>

Luke yanked him to his feet and slammed him up against a tree. "Is that what you told yourself last night, when you threw my cousin into that hole?" he hissed at him.

Rosco caught up to them, panting. "Awright, it's cuffin' and stuffin' time, move it!" he said, slapping cuffs on Earl.

Morty didn't get much farther before Bo tackled him. Luke and Enos ran to help as they wrestled on the ground. Morty tried to shove off of him. Bo got a few punches in, but Morty pulled a knife from his boot and slashed at him, slicing his forearm. Bo shouted and clutched at it. Luke doubled his speed toward them as Morty lunged at Bo.

_Crack._

That brought all of them up short. Darla was walking toward them, with Timmy's rifle trained on Morty. She was still shaking with cold, but it wasn't affecting her ability to hold the weapon. "You know," she said as she got within earshot, "It's bad enough you decided to go after me; my family is rather upset with you. But then you decided to go after my family. And I'm not nearly as forgiving as they are." Her arms were shaking, but her eyes were dead calm as she sighted on Morty.

Enos put his hand on his pistol. "Darla, you put that rifle down, now," he said. _I unloaded that thing!_ He thought. _Where in the heck did she get ammo for it?_ He suddenly remembered he'd left the rounds Luke had been holding in the front of the patrol car. _So how many shots does she have?_

Bo and Morty were still on the ground. Morty's eyes widened in fear. Bo and Luke looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. Darla wasn't exactly level-headed when she was threatened; they remembered that from the day they met her. And while she hadn't been run off the road into a tree this time, she had been shoved down a hole and left to die.

"Darla, put it down," said Luke.

"Darla, don't do this," said Bo.

Darla didn't shift her aim, but her eyes flicked to Bo. "He went after me, then he went after you," she said. "I know how slowly the wheels of justice turn, Bo; I want mine _now._"

"Darla, please, listen to us!" said Luke.

"Get back, Bo!" Darla yelled. Bo moved away from Morty, clutching his arm, but didn't take his eyes off of Darla.

"Darla, please honey, stop!" Bo said.

"Don't tell me what to do, Bo!" she yelled at him. "He was so intent on shooting something, he was willing to kill me to do it. I think I should return the favor!"

"Darla, this ain't you, now stop it!" shouted Luke.

"Darla, I mean it, you put that gun down!" yelled Enos. He had drawn his pistol, but he wasn't pointing it at her—yet.

"Now, just a minute, boys. I'd say she's got a point," said Bo, suddenly nonchalant. "If she wants her justice now, I say she should have it."

Luke shot him a look of disbelief; Bo winked at him. "I mean, the way Boss Hogg is, all this loser'd have to do is wave some money at him and he'd let 'im go!" He looked down at Morty; his expression hardened. "Can't have that, now can we?"

Luke suddenly understood. "Fine," he spit at the two of them. "But if you wind up having your weddin' in a jail cell, don't cry to me about it!" He started walking away, looking at Enos.

Bo stood next to Darla. "He's all yours, honey." Darla said nothing, just sighted on Morty again.

Morty crab-walked backward, his eyes filled with terror as he tried to move away from Darla. He put his arms up in a futile attempt to protect himself.

_Click._

Morty looked at her through his fingers. Darla lowered the rifle and tossed it to Enos. "If that bobcat had been in the back of your car, I would have saved that one shot for you," she said. She felt her knees start to go weak from shaking; she leaned heavily into Bo.

Luke came back and joined them. "You had us goin' there for a minute, Darla," he said, putting an arm around her.

"Well, there's one advantage to Darla here bein' such a shrimp," said Bo, looking over at Enos. "I tower over her so much, I can see if her chamber's empty!"

Enos just shook his head. "You should be thankful you're goin' to a jail cell," he said to Morty, pulling him to his feet and slapping cuffs on him. "'Cause if there's one rule in Hazzard, it's you don't mess with the Duke family."

"Funny how Boss Hogg's never learned it," said Darla.


	13. Not Through Yet

_**A/N: My apologies for being so long in updating but it's been a very rough couple of months. Fortunately, I've had some time to write. If you're new to the story, go check out my first in the series, "Treasure."**_

"Well, it looks like Ol' Jeremiah Wilson was tellin' the truth, after all," said Uncle Jesse.

They were all in the living room of the Duke farmhouse. Bo was trying to sit still while Doc Applebee stitched the slash on his arm. He was trying to ignore what the doctor was doing, which was fairly easy, since Darla was in his line of sight. She was wrapped in warmed blankets and trying to sip hot tea without spilling it from her shaking hands. Daisy had helped her shower the mud and blood from her skin and hair before bundling her in some of Bo's old sweats.

"That's a fact, Uncle Jesse; I'm not sure I woulda believed it myself, if I hadn't seen it," said Cooter.

"A black bobcat," said Daisy in wonder.

"Unbelievable," said Luke.

"Well, the Indians—ow—who lived here before us believed it," said Bo. "They—ouch!—had paintings of a black cat in a tree down in that cave."

"Black can be rare in some animals, like wolves," said Darla in a raspy voice. "I've never heard of a black bobcat before; it must show up once every several generations. That explains why the legend is still alive." She started coughing again; she could feel it deep in her chest, like it was threatening to tear her apart.

"The natives believed it was a sacred animal," said the doctor, finishing the last stitch in Bo's arm. He'd gotten the story of what had transpired on Devil's Ridge from the Dukes, and he'd heard the Phantom Panther legends many times before. "Medical science would have us believe it's a random genetic mutation, but maybe there's something to the native legends, too." He wrapped a bandage around the stitches. "Don't throw any punches for a few days," he said.

"As long as nobody goes after her," said Bo, moving to sit with Darla and putting an arm around her. "Is she gonna be all right?"

Doc examined her again. "You may be feverish for a while. And I'll check on you again tonight; I don't like the sound of that cough. But for now, get some rest."

"Thanks, Doc," said Jesse. They were all rubbing their eyes as Jesse showed the doctor out. Darla leaned her head against Bo's chest; she was having a hard time staying awake. Exhaustion was setting in on all of them. "I'm gonna try and get some shut-eye, y'all," said Cooter, getting up to leave. "Hope nobody wants their car worked on today."

"I think mine can wait," Darla mumbled. She wrapped her arms around Bo and sighed. Her skin was hot, but she still felt cold inside. Bo leaned back and lay down across the sofa, pulling Darla with him. She laid her head on his chest, her eyes already closed. Bo's legs were hanging over the arm of the sofa, but he ignored it. He looked up at Cooter. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Anytime, Bo. But you already knew that," said Cooter, and shuffled out the door.

Luke went to his and Bo's room, grabbed Bo's pillow, and came back to the living room as Jesse came back in. He helped Bo shove the pillow under his head; Daisy laid another blanket over them. Darla was already asleep; Bo was fighting a losing battle with his eyelids, too. But his arms stayed wrapped around Darla. Luke saw his uncle watching the two of them, his eyes narrowed.

Luke shook his head slightly. "Leave 'em be, Uncle Jesse," he whispered. He knew Bo wasn't going to budge from that couch; after the night they'd had, it wasn't worth arguing about.

Jesse might have argued anyway, but just then a yawn nearly split his jaw. "Let's get some rest 'fore it's time for chores again," he mumbled. He and the others shuffled off to their beds, as Bo fell asleep, his arms still tightly holding the woman he loved.

* * *

><p>Bo stirred in his sleep; he was too close to the fireplace, and it was hot. He blinked and opened his eyes. He felt stiff, like he hadn't moved for hours. The shadows on the floor told him it was sometime in the afternoon. He was still on the couch, but there was no fire in the fireplace. Why was he so hot, then? He stretched and felt a weight shift on top of him. Darla was draped across his chest. He smiled a little, remembering where he'd fallen asleep. He reached up and gently stroked her cheek. Then he felt her forehead. She was burning hot. "Darla?" he murmured. He shook her gently. "Darla, wake up, hon." She didn't respond. "Darla?" he said, and shook her a little harder. He threw the blankets off them and sat up. Darla was a dead weight in his arms. "Darla? Darla!" he said loudly.<p>

Luke came out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"She won't wake up!" said Bo. He quickly got up and laid Darla back on the couch. "Darla, honey, wake up, please!" He heard her take a breath; it sounded wet, like she was having trouble breathing.

Luke put a hand on her forehead. "Geez, she's burnin' up," he said. "Uncle Jesse!"

* * *

><p>The Dukes sat in the small waiting room, taking turns alternately dozing, sitting, or pacing. The doctor hadn't come to see them yet. They'd brought Darla to the emergency room, then they'd waited for what seemed like hours before a nurse came and brought them to a smaller room outside the intensive care unit.<p>

Bo sat with his chin on his folded hands. Daisy knew that ordinarily he'd be pacing all over the room, demanding to know what they were doing with Darla. The fact that he was sitting still told her just how low he really was. She sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. He dropped his head; Daisy could feel him trembling.

"Hey," she murmured. "She's gonna be fine. She's too feisty to be anything else. She'll be okay." Her voice sounded shaky.

"Hey, y'all," said Cooter, walking in. "They told me you were up here. Chores are done at the farm; I got here quick as I could." He looked toward the doors. "Any word yet?" Luke shook his head.

"It's my fault," Bo whispered.

"No, it ain't, Bo," Luke said firmly. "She just got sick, that's all. It's got nothin' to do with you."

"She's sick 'cause she was stuck down there in that dang cave!" said Bo. "And she was down there 'cause she ran away from me! Because of what I said to her!"

"Now listen, buddy-roe," said Cooter. "She got stuck in that cave 'cause them guys threw her down there. Now, let's find out what's wrong with her, 'fore you go heapin' more blame on yourself."

Just then the doors opened; Doc Applebee was talking with a much younger doctor, who was clad in scrubs. They both looked serious. Bo quickly wiped his eyes and stood up.

"Doc, what're you doin' here?" asked Jesse, as they all walked over.

The Doc looked very tired as he faced them. "I was makin' my rounds when I heard the codes over the intercom. When I came up here, I realized it was one of my own patients they were workin' on."

"How is she?" asked Daisy.

"Is she gonna be all right?" asked Bo.

Doc sighed deeply. "I'm so sorry, Bo; if I'd thought she was in any danger I would've had her brought here straight away. I've never seen pneumonia take hold of someone this fast."

"Pneumonia?" exclaimed Bo.

"What's happened?" asked Luke in a guarded voice.

"We're still working on her," said the younger doctor, breaking in. "I'm Doctor Allen. Dayanira is fighting some sort of lung infection; it's given her pneumonia in both lungs. The problem is we can't pinpoint what's causing the infection. I've got a respiratory specialist coming up from Atlanta to examine her."

"Wait; you've been back there all this time and you don't even know what's wrong with her?" said Bo, his voice rising.

"Bo," said Luke in a warning tone.

Doctor Allen nodded. "I understand your frustration, sir; I'm frustrated too. I've never seen a case of pneumonia like this. There's matter in her lungs, but it's not fluid. We've done blood panels on her, but this infection isn't viral and it isn't bacterial. And until we determine what the underlying cause is, we can't treat it effectively. If the congestion in her lungs gets much worse, it's going to start putting pressure on her heart. If that happens she's in real danger of heart failure."

Bo's heart froze. He tried to speak, but the words stuck in his throat.

"Doc?" Jesse looked at the older doctor, but Doc Applebee shook his head. "Jesse, I thought I'd seen it all, but this case even has me stumped. That's why Doctor Allen called for a specialist."

"Can I see her?" asked Bo.

Doctor Allen sighed. "You can, but she's not awake. We have her sedated. And she was having enough trouble breathing that we decided to put her on a ventilator to make sure she gets enough oxygen."

Bo felt like someone had kicked him. His breath quickened.

Jesse put a hand on Bo's shoulder. "Bo, you go on; Darla needs to hear your voice and know you're here."

Bo sniffed and nodded. As he walked off with the doctor, Luke said. "Weren't we just here a couple of months ago, after the river?"

The doctor stopped and turned. "River? What river?"

The Dukes and Cooter looked at each other. "Well, she fell off Green River Bridge a couple of months ago; she almost drowned," said Bo, his voice cracking on the last word.

The doctor looked like a light bulb had just come on. "Did she get water in her lungs?" Bo nodded.

"I need you to wait here," he said to Bo. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He disappeared behind the doors again.

They all stared at the door, surprised. "Now what in the heck was that about?" Cooter asked.

"I don't know, but somethin's lit a fire under him," said Luke. "C'mon," he said, and steered Bo back to the chairs. Doc Applebee excused himself to return to his rounds, and they returned to their restless waiting.

After another half hour, the doctor returned, looking relieved. "Eosinophilic pneumonia," he said.

"What?" The name alone was enough to make Bo feel panicky.

"It's a type of pneumonia where white blood cells accumulate in the lungs instead of fluid. It's very rare; I've never actually seen it before. But it sometimes happens to drowning victims, especially when they drown in stagnant water. More than likely some type of organism or parasite in the water got into her lungs, and her body's been fighting it ever since. Eventually her white blood cell count got out of control."

"Was it 'cause she got trapped in a cave all night?" Bo blurted out; he couldn't hold the question in any longer.

Doctor Allen looked surprised. "It's very unlikely. With parasitic infections, it's just a matter of time before the body starts to lose the fight."

Bo looked a little relieved. "Now, see there?" said Cooter, clapping Bo on the shoulder. "This wasn't your fault after all!" Bo let out a shaky laugh.

The doctor looked confused. "Long story," Luke whispered. "You know, she was out at that grass fire day before yesterday, too; she inhaled a lot of smoke," he said louder.

"That definitely would have irritated her lungs," said Doctor Allen. "Combined with being out in the cold all night, I'm not surprised that it spiraled out of control so quickly."

"So she's gonna be okay?" said Bo hopefully.

Doctor Allen hesitated. "Well, she's not out of the woods yet. Now that we know what's causing it, we've got her on the right medications, but they need time to work. The rest is up to her. We'll keep her on the ventilator for now, but she should be better in a few days."

They all exclaimed in relief at that. "Can I see her now?" said Bo.

"She's still asleep, but yes," said the doctor, and motioned for Bo to follow him.

It had been a few months since Bo had seen Darla in a hospital bed, but it didn't make this time any easier. She looked tiny and frail, with the IVs and tubes hooked into her. Wires ran from her chest down her sleeve into a monitor that showed the feeble but regular beating of her heart. The respirator hissed at an even tempo, breathing for her.

Bo felt overcome with guilt as he looked at her. He didn't care what anyone said; he was responsible for this.

"Darla?" he said softly. He sat next to her and stroked her hair. She didn't respond. He leaned in and gently kissed her forehead. "I'm here, honey. I love you," he whispered to her. He sat next to the bed and wrapped her hand in both of his. "I love you so much," he whispered, and then the words started tumbling out of him. "Oh, Darla, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid and jealous, this would never have happened.

"I've been such an idiot. I didn't see it, Darla. I know how much you miss Jonas. An' Luke's just been actin' like the same kind of big brother to you that he was, an' I didn't see it that way. I should have. But all I saw was Luke bein' there for you, and you goin' to him, and…I got scared. What if you loved him more than me? What if you loved him _instead_ of me? And…what could you possibly see in me, that would make you love me? What is there about me, that could make you wanna stay?

"I couldn't stand it if I lost you, especially not to him. But the only thing that was gonna make me lose you, was me actin' like such a damn fool." He swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry. I don't deserve you, not after everything I've done."

He was still sitting there, lost in his thoughts, when he felt her hand tighten in his. He looked up. Her eyes were still closed. "Darla?" he said softly. Her eyelids fluttered; her head moved slowly. "Darla," he whispered, and stroked her cheek. Ever so slowly, her eyes opened.

Bo sighed in relief. "Hey, darlin'," he said. Darla's eyes were glazed; focused on Bo with a confused look.

"You're in the hospital, darlin'," said Bo. "You got pneumonia, but you're gonna be fine. There's a tube in your throat to—to help you breathe." He choked a little on the words.

Darla blinked rapidly as she fought the sedation. "Shh, just rest now, Darla darlin'," Bo murmured. "It'll be all right. You're gonna be okay. I'll be here. I'll be right here. Just rest now."

He felt Darla's hand go slack; her eyes drifted closed. For a second his insides fluttered; then he realized she'd fallen back to sleep. He heard the hiss of the respirator again, and saw her chest softly rise and fall. Holding her hand in his, he reached out with the other and gently brushed a lock of hair from her face. His eyes followed the line of the faint scar across her forehead. Then his gaze moved to her eyelashes, and the way they brushed the lavender shadows under her eyes. The shadows made her cheekbones seem even higher. Despite her pale skin, she still had a little blush in her cheeks. And the tube across her mouth couldn't completely hide her full lips.

She was so beautiful. And she wasn't just beautiful on the outside. She could have been the spoiled society girl her family's money would have allowed her to be. But she wasn't. She had a strong heart, a kind soul, and a spirit that was stubborn and fiery enough to stand up to his, and yet calm enough to weather his stormy temper. She was the most amazing woman he'd ever met. And he didn't deserve her.

He felt his throat get thick. How many times had he come so close to losing her? First Harold King, then the poachers, now this. _This will not happen again,_ he thought. "I love you, Darla. I don't care if it takes me a lifetime to do it; I'll make this up to you. I just…hope you'll give me the chance," he whispered.

Bo heard footsteps behind him, and felt a hand on his shoulder. Daisy sat across the bed from him and reached for Darla's other hand. Jesse sat at the foot of the bed; Luke stayed next to Bo. And they waited, while Darla slept on.


	14. Surprise

_It hurt. It hurt to breathe, hurt to move, hurt to think. She tried to breathe, but it felt like her lungs were stubbornly refusing to obey. She could hear Bo's voice, calling to her, but she couldn't seem to draw enough breath to wake up, let alone answer him. She heard the others' voices and a feeling of being in motion, then a jumble of unfamiliar voices and bright lights. The light hurt; she tried to turn away from it, but there were hands on her, holding her arms down. Everything went dark for a moment; when the light came back she felt something in her throat. She tried to reach for it, but the hands restrained her again. She felt a sharp prick in her arm, and the lights and sounds faded again._

_She felt like she was suspended, floating in a mist-filled oblivion. The pain in her chest persisted, but it was almost like it was separate from the rest of her. She was dimly aware of time passing, but it seemed inconsequential to her. The mist seemed to press in on her, draining her of all energy. But yet, it didn't seem threatening; the mist was slightly comforting, a welcome relief from the pain she'd been in. It alternated between light and dark; sometimes it was quiet, sometimes she heard the Dukes' voices, and sometimes she heard strange voices. Most of all, she heard Bo talking softly to her, and his voice was full of pain. She wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't find her way to him through the mist. _

_Gradually, the pain in her chest eased; it became easier to breathe, but it felt strange, like she wasn't entirely controlling it. The mist grew thinner, and the voices became clearer. She could hear Bo and the others, talking to her, calling her back. She gathered up her resolve, and pushed back against the mist._

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't she be wakin' up now, doc?" asked Bo.<p>

"She's been off the sedatives for several hours, but they can take a while to burn their way out of her system," said Doctor Allen. He checked the monitors. "She's breathing on her own now. She's stable, and she's making good progress. She'll be awake soon," he said.

Bo turned his attention back to her. "Darla? Baby, can you hear me? Will ya wake up, please?" He held one of her hands in his and gently stroked her cheek with the other. "C'mon, darlin', please wake up."

"Darla, wake up now," said Jesse.

"Darla? We're all here, hon, now wake up for us," said Daisy.

"C'mon, Darla, you've slept long enough, wake up now," said Luke gently.

Darla breathed a little deeper; her head moved a little. "Darla? C'mon, darlin', open your eyes, please," Bo said softly. Darla turned her head toward Bo's voice. "You promised me," he whispered to her. "You promised me you'd always come back. Come back now, Darla, please." She screwed her eyes shut against the light, then slowly blinked them open.

All the Dukes sighed and smiled in relief. Darla looked around her in confusion. Except for the Dukes, nothing looked familiar. Doctor Allen saw her fear. "Darla? I'm Doctor Allen," he said in a soothing voice. "You're at Tri-County General. You came down with pneumonia; you've been very sick, but you're doing a lot better. You have a breathing tube in your throat. I'm going to need your help to take it out. I want you to take a deep breath, and then breathe out as hard as you can. Can you do that?" Darla nodded, took a breath, and huffed out. The doctor pulled the tube; she retched a bit as it left her throat. She coughed and fought to draw in a breath. "Water," she said in a hoarse whisper.

Daisy quickly filled a cup with water from a pitcher and handed it to her. Darla drank deeply and asked for more. After a second cup, she lay back again and looked at them. "Hi," she whispered.

Bo let out a shaky breath. "Hi, Darla darlin'," he said, and pressed his lips to her forehead. He smiled weakly as he looked at her; he seemed too choked up to say more.

"It's good to see you awake, Darla," said Daisy.

"We were wonderin' just how long you were gonna lounge about, here," Jesse teased.

Darla realized they all looked tired. Bo looked the worst; he looked drained and rumpled, with deep shadows under his eyes. "What time is it?" Her voice was little more than a raspy croak.

"It's more like, 'what day is it'?" said Luke. "You've been out for nearly four days, hon."

Darla's eyes widened. "Four _days?_" she wheezed.

"You gave us some trouble, Darla," said Doctor Allen. "The pneumonia you contracted was very rare, and your body had a hard time fighting it. You also kept fighting the respirator tube, so we've kept you pretty heavily sedated. But the antibiotics and steroids are doing their job; you need a few more days to recover, but you're going to be just fine."

Darla nodded slowly and closed her eyes. She felt Bo squeeze her hand and looked back at him. He gently stroked her cheek, then leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you so much," he whispered to her.

Darla managed a small smile and looked back at the others. "What happened to the poachers?" she rasped.

"They're on their way to Atlanta; they're in a lotta trouble," said Jesse. "They were worried they'd have to delay things until you were better, but that Timmy kid rolled over on the others, and agreed to testify against them. Between that and Bo and Luke's testimony, they'll be in jail for a while."

"Yeah; aside from the kidnapping charges, it turned out none of the guns they had were legal," said Luke. "Plus, they were poaching, and they started that fire, and they were trespassing. Farmer Wilson had a lot to say to the judge about that."

"I'll bet." Darla smiled a little and gestured for more water. Daisy quickly refilled her cup. "You know, them boys' trial was the only time we could get Bo away from you," said Daisy. She looked at her baby cousin with a mixture of exasperation and affection. "He hasn't left your side for more than a minute since we brought you here."

"I thought I smelled something," Darla muttered. The others all laughed; eventually Bo did too. Darla managed a brief chuckle that quickly turned into a cough. She lay back again. Luke gestured toward the door to Daisy and Jesse. "We'll be back later, sugar," Daisy said softly. The three of them left, leaving Bo and Darla alone.

They were quiet for a moment. The silence felt awkward; they both knew there was still a lot unsaid between them. "You look like you could use some sleep," Darla rasped.

"Nah, I'm fine," said Bo.

Darla smirked. "You're a really bad liar," she mumbled. "I like that about you."

Bo couldn't help but laugh softly; even now, Darla could still joke. "An' you're amazing," said Bo. "I love that about you." He looked down. "Darla, I—"

Darla squeezed his hand. "You don't have to say it again," she whispered.

"Yeah, but—" Bo stopped as he realized what she'd said. "How much did you hear?" he asked. Darla had shown no reaction at all as he sat by her side, confessing every fear he'd had, and every sin he felt he'd committed toward her in the last several days.

"Most of it, I think," she said. "Bo, this wasn't your fault."

"Why does everyone keep sayin' that?" said Bo. "It dang well was my fault!"

"It's not your fault that poachers were out trying to catch a myth," said Darla. Her voice was thin and raspy, but firm. "I could have gone anywhere; I could have gone home like I should have. And I'd still be fighting this. Why are you so intent on blaming yourself?"

"Because—" Bo hung his head. He'd been hoping to have all his thoughts in order by the time Darla awoke; knowing she'd heard it all made him wonder what to say now. "Because," he said softly, "the day that I met you, I woke up that morning thinkin' everything was right with the world. It didn't matter to me that I was thirty-one and hadn't been really serious with a girl yet, or that Luke and I were still tearin' around in the General every weekend. It didn't matter that I was one of the last bachelors left in Hazzard, that every girl was tryin' to snag. I didn't wanna be tied down; I was happy. An' then, we went to the bank, an' I saw you, and…I just ain't been the same since. I can't go back to the way I was, because I don't know how to live without you. I love you, Darla. You mean more to me than anything. I love you, an' I almost lost you. I almost lost you because I was afraid you'd…because I was a stupid, stubborn…"

His voice was becoming shaky. Darla reached out to him and took his hand. Bo pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I'm sorry, Darla, I'm so sorry," he whispered brokenly.

"I know," she whispered back. "I wish you'd said something."

"Believe me, I wish I had too," said Bo.

Darla looked up at him. "Bo, how could you think that?" she asked. "Why would you think I'd…" Her voice wasn't angry, or accusing, or anything else he deserved, which almost made him feel worse.

"Because," said Bo, "you deserve better than me. An' Luke…well, he's more even-tempered than me, he don't jump into things like me, he's smarter than me—"

Darla put a finger to his lips. "But he's not you," she said. "I couldn't love Luke like that; he's too much like Jonas. Bo, I love _you._ Maybe I'll never figure out all the reasons why, but to me there's no one better than you."

Bo felt tears in his eyes, and pulled her close again so she wouldn't see them. "I don't deserve it," he whispered.

"That's for me to decide," said Darla.

Bo laughed silently. "That's exactly what Luke said you'd say," he said.

"Yeah, well, Luke is pretty smart," Darla murmured.

They sat with their arms around each other, Darla's head resting on Bo's shoulder. "Are you going to do it again?" she finally asked.

"No," Bo said fervently. He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "I will _never_ treat you like that again. I'll never not trust you again. An' I'll never lose my temper at you like that again. Never," he said.

Darla believed him. Whether he lost his temper at her again or not, she knew it would flare up again sometime. And she was probably going to spend part of the next fifty years pulling her hair out over that and his stubbornness, but he was good and honest and strong and brave, and she loved him. No question, she loved him. She rested her head on his shoulder again. This silence was the longest yet. Finally she smiled. "Are you going to make it up to me?"

Bo smiled a little. "Even if it takes me a lifetime," he said.

* * *

><p>"Here you go, Darla; put this on too," said Daisy, handing her a heavy cardigan sweater.<p>

"Is it that cold out?" asked Darla. She was already in a turtleneck and one of Bo's old sweater vests, and the cardigan looked at least three sizes too big for her.

"No, but the doctor says you need to keep your chest warm," said Jesse firmly. Darla frowned, but shrugged her arms into it. She wobbled a little as she pulled it over her shoulders.

"Whoa, take it easy now, Darla darlin'; let me help you," said Bo, putting his arms around her.

"_Dios mio,_ Bo, I'm fine!" exclaimed Darla.

"You're awfully unsteady on your feet though, darlin', just let me help you," said Bo.

"I haven't forgotten how to walk!"

"Darla," said Luke in a warning tone. Darla sighed in exasperation, but let Bo help support her. She'd never admit it, but being out of bed was taking a lot of effort. Her energy reserves were seriously depleted.

"I still think you should've used the wheelchair," Bo muttered.

"Not a chance," Darla retorted, and all four of the Dukes rolled their eyes. Luke had to fight back a smile. Darla might have been beaten down by her illness, but her attitude hadn't changed a bit.

In the ten days since they'd raced Darla to the hospital, she'd lost almost as many pounds in weight. Her face was sharply angled around her cheekbones, her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and deep purple shadows still darkened her eyes. The pneumonia had taken a severe toll on her. But her hazel eyes were bright, and her smile was back.

It seemed everyone in Hazzard expressed their relief that Darla was recovering. Lulu had come to see her; so had Cooter and Enos, and even Rosco, although he mostly used it as an excuse to berate Enos for not working overtime. Daisy had brought in as many wedding things as she could, so they could keep up with their planning. Jesse had visited as much as the farm would allow, but Bo and Luke had been absent a great deal of the time. When Darla asked, Bo said, "I'm making it up to you." That confused her, but Bo refused to say any more, and Luke wasn't any more forthcoming.

Bo helped Darla down the hospital hallway. As they got to the main lobby, Darla looked at the others. "All right, what?" she said. "You're all looking at each other like you've got some huge secret!"

Their smiles got wider. "C'mon," said Bo, and steered her toward the front door. "Close your eyes."

"Oh, come on—"

"I'm serious now, no peekin'!" said Bo. Darla made a face, but closed her eyes. Bo put both arms around her, took her hands and led her out the door and down the steps, ignoring her protests. "Now, you just stand right there," he said, turning her a little, "And—okay; open 'em!"

Darla opened her eyes and gasped. Cooter's rig was out by the curb. Behind it, was a 1968 Pontiac Firebird. The paint was a gleaming, dark royal blue, all the lights were intact, the interior didn't have a mark on it, and the chrome rims glowed like new.

"Whaddya think?" Cooter called out, coming around the front. "Bo said we should tow it over here, so you'd be the first one to drive it!"

They all waited for her to say something, but Darla just stared in shock. "Well, you like it, don't ya?" asked Bo nervously. "Me an' Luke have been workin' with Cooter day an' night, gettin' it runnin' again!" The two of them had talked quite a bit during their work as well; any misunderstandings they'd had over the last few weeks had been worked out and apologized for, and their kinship was stronger than ever.

Darla stared numbly for another moment. Suddenly she squealed and threw her arms around him. Bo laughed in relief as she kissed him, then ran to Luke and Cooter in turn, hugging both of them. She then ran to the car and yanked the door open. The others all laughed as Darla threw herself into the driver's seat, bouncing like a little girl.

"I can't believe it!" she said. "I can't believe you all did this!"

Bo got in next to her and held the keys out to her. Darla stared at them for a moment. She shut her eyes; Bo saw her lips tremble. "What's the matter?"

"Jonas would have loved this," she whispered. "He—" Darla sniffed and threw her arms around Bo again. "Thank you," she whispered. "This means so much. Thank you."

Bo smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're welcome," he murmured. He held the keys out to her again. This time Darla took them and turned the car over; her smile reached from ear to ear as it came to life. She revved the engine; the Firebird lacked the high-pitched roar of the General, giving out more of a growl. But it was a menacing sound; there was a lot of power waiting to get out of that engine.

Daisy came up holding a picnic basket. "All right now, you two, go have some fun!" she said.

"Don't you be keepin' her out late, Bo!" Jesse chimed in as Bo put the basket in the back. "Darla still needs to be outta the cold by sundown!" His words were almost lost in the roar of the Firebird's revving engine.

"Shall we?" asked Bo, his eyes shining.

Darla's eyes were alight with anticipation. But as she put the car in drive, suddenly they heard a siren. Rosco's patrol car pulled up next to them, boxing them in.

"Awright! Just hold it right there!" the sheriff yelled, getting out of the car.

"Rosco, what is this?" said Luke.

"Rosco, what are you doin'?" Daisy added.

"Ya got non-workin' taillights, that's what, that's a ten-dollar fine an' I'm gonna write ya a ticket, khew khew!" Rosco snickered.

"Rosco, what're you talkin' about? We just put this car back together, an' everything on it works fine!" said Bo.

"Well, them taillights _weren't_ workin' fine when you were at Cooter's 'fore ya came over here!" Rosco fired back. "Yer drivin' this here vehicle in an unsafe manner, an' now yer gonna get a ticket for it!"

"Rosco, I just left the hospital and this is the first time I've even been in this car! How can I be driving in an unsafe manner when I haven't even driven it yet?" exclaimed Darla.

Rosco was momentarily nonplussed. "Awright, then you're gettin' a ticket for _parkin'_ in an unsafe manner!" he finally said.

"Oh, Rosco, you can't be serious!" said Daisy, but Rosco ignored her.

Bo and Luke exchanged an exasperated look; this was all too familiar to them. Trust Rosco to rain on anyone's parade. But Darla caught Cooter's eye, and nodded slightly in the direction of his rig. Rosco was so focused on his ticket book, he didn't realize anything until Darla said, "Hey, Rosco? When's the last time you took shooting practice?"

"Huh?" Rosco didn't look up. "Why?"

"Because I think you need a little more practice hitting a moving target," said Darla, and revved the Firebird's engine again.

Rosco looked up then, and realized Cooter's rig was no longer boxing them in. "Dgitdigtdigt! Darla, don't you dare!" But Darla floored the gas and roared away with a squeal of tires. "You—you—you get back here!" Rosco yelled after them. The other Dukes and Cooter burst out laughing as Rosco ran back to his car and tore after them.

"Here he comes," said Bo, looking behind them.

"Let's see how he likes chasing blue paint for a while," said Darla with a grin.

"Awright, you, Dukes! Now you pull over, I mean it, or you'll be doin' thirty days!" Rosco's voice came over the CB.

Bo laughed at Rosco's all-too-familiar threat; then he looked at Darla. "He called you a Duke," he said.

Darla was busy driving, but she flashed him a smile. "Of course he did, it's only a matter of time until it's official, right?" she said, focusing again on the road.

It hit him then. She was really going to become a Duke. In spite of everything he'd done, she was _still _ going to become a Duke. He'd been mean to her, horrible to her, and yet she'd never thought of leaving him. She loved him. He knew he'd have to regain her trust, but he didn't care how long that took. She'd chosen to forgive him. Maybe someday he'd forgive himself. He'd learned his lesson, and he'd never treat her that way or doubt her again. And maybe, that was what lifetime relationships were really about; each person learning to take the other at both their best and their worst, knowing all of the other's flaws and still thinking they were flawless.

"Uh, Bo?" Darla's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "What shocks did you guys put on this car?"

"The same ones that the General has, wh-" He stopped as he realized why she was asking. "Oh, great, Miller's Creek! They're never gonna fix this bridge! Go left, toward that ridge!"

Darla clenched her jaw and floored the Firebird; the car jumped forward and flew over the creek, landing hard on the other side. Darla brought the car to a skidding stop; they looked back in time to see Rosco stop short of the bridge. He got out and shook a fist at them, yelling something unintelligible.

Bo and Darla exchanged a look and laughed. There was no question-Darla was definitely going to fit in as a Duke.

_**Soon the Dukes will have one more to call their own! It may be a while, but I'm still working on the next installment, "Treasure: Forever Family." As the Dukes gather for Bo and Darla's wedding, an old enemy resurfaces. To fight him, Bo and Darla will have to make a sacrifice, and the Dukes will learn that not all the family they have, has the name of Duke.**_


End file.
